Members of the Utah women’s basketball team experienced a distressing incident near their hotel in Idaho last week. According to authorities, a pickup truck displaying a Confederate flag drove by them, and the driver directed offensive language, including the N-word, towards the team. This racist encounter left the team shaken, prompting them to relocate to a different hotel the following day.
Utah coach Lynne Roberts has shared that her team faced a string of hate crimes upon arriving at their first NCAA Tournament hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She disclosed the incidents following Utah’s loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the tournament on Monday night. Authorities have since confirmed some of the details.
According to Roberts, the team experienced these incidents on Thursday night upon their arrival, and they were truly disturbing for the entire traveling party. The safety concerns were so serious that Utah had to find a different hotel, despite playing their games in Spokane, approximately 30 miles away from their original location in Coeur d’Alene.
According to Roberts, the program experienced several incidents of racial hate crimes that deeply affected everyone involved. She expressed her dismay at such occurrences, emphasizing that they are particularly shocking in the world of athletics and university settings. Roberts highlighted the diversity present on college campuses, making it rare to encounter such incidents.
During a news conference, Tony Stewart, a representative of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, revealed that the Utes were peacefully walking from their hotel to a nearby restaurant when a truck approached them. Shockingly, the driver of the truck proceeded to use racist language towards the players. Later, after the team had finished their meal and left the restaurant, the same driver returned with others, seemingly emboldened. They revved their engines and once again hurled verbal abuse at the Utes.
Utah deputy athletic director Charmelle Green, who is Black, expressed her astonishment at the incident. She recalled the moment when everyone present, including the cheerleaders and students in the vicinity, was left stunned. The words spoken were so shocking that it momentarily froze everyone in their tracks.
Utah reported that it lodged a police report on the night of the incidents. Coeur d’Alene police chief, Lee White, stated on Tuesday that approximately 100 individuals were present in the vicinity that night. However, investigators still need to interview those who were affected. White mentioned that there are two potential state charges that could be applied, namely, malicious harassment and disorderly conduct, in the event of an arrest. Additionally, White confirmed that he is collaborating with the FBI on the matter.
White stated that the charges against the perpetrators will be determined once all the facts are gathered and the investigation is complete.
Utah, South Dakota State, and UC Irvine had to stay at hotels in Idaho, along with the host school Gonzaga, due to a shortage of hotel space in the Spokane area. This was because the city had been selected to host the first and second rounds of the men’s NCAA Tournament, coinciding with a major youth volleyball tournament taking place in the area over the weekend.
Due to the limited hotel space available, Gonzaga was granted a waiver by the NCAA to accommodate teams in Idaho.
South Dakota State chose to stay in Post Falls, a location just west of Coeur d’Alene and on the Idaho-Washington state line. On the other hand, UC Irvine decided to stay in Coeur d’Alene, but they were not involved in the incident with Utah. However, due to concerns for the well-being and safety of their student-athletes and the entire travel party, the UC Irvine team requested to move, as stated by Mike Uhlenkamp, the assistant vice chancellor for communications and media relations, in an email.
The women’s tournament has a unique feature that sets it apart from the men’s tournament. Unlike the men’s tournament, where the first- and second-round games are held at neutral venues chosen years in advance, the women’s tournament allows for 16 campus sites to be selected only five days before the games begin on Selection Sunday. This means that the host teams, which are the 16 highest seeds, get to enjoy the advantage of playing on their home court and often perform in front of large crowds.
According to Lynn Holzman, the NCAA Vice President for Women’s Basketball, the selection committee had plans to evaluate the championship format after the 2025 tournament. However, she has been advocating for the review to be conducted earlier, this year.
According to Holzman, the review will encompass the initial four rounds, including the first and second rounds, as well as an assessment of the two-site regional format. He emphasized the need to examine the preliminary stages of the championship, stating that due to recent growth, it would be prudent to commence the review in 2024.
The NCAA expressed gratitude to the leadership at Gonzaga and Utah, as well as law enforcement, in a statement earlier today.
In a statement, the team expressed their deep disappointment and sadness over the unfortunate incident that occurred during their journey to participate in a highly anticipated competition. The team had been looking forward to showcasing their skills on a prestigious platform and making lasting memories together.
Mark Harlan, the athletic director of Utah, expressed his displeasure with the decision to place the Utes at such a distant location from the game site.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, Green, Roberts, and the rest of the team expressed their disappointment with the decision to accommodate them in hotels located so far away from the competition site, in a different state. They emphasized that this arrangement had been unacceptable and had played a significant role in the incident’s consequences. Moving forward, they plan to collaborate with NCAA leadership to address and rectify this issue.
“Racism exists and it occurs, and it’s a terrible thing. So, our players, regardless of their race, were unsure of how to deal with it and it was truly distressing,” expressed Roberts. “It’s messed up that our players and staff didn’t feel secure in an NCAA Tournament setting.”
According to Roberts, the NCAA and Gonzaga collaborated to relocate the team following the initial night. In response to the incident, Gonzaga released a statement expressing their frustration and deep sadness.
Far-right extremists have been present in the region for a number of years. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that in 2018, there were at least nine hate groups operating in the Spokane and northern Idaho area.
Idaho Governor Brad Little expressed his strong stance against racism, hate, and bigotry in the state of Idaho. He firmly condemned individuals who engage in bullying and aim to intimidate and silence others.
