In the fall of 2020, and in the face of significant racial tensions across the country, our BYU football players chose to focus on the theme “Love One Another.” Virtually every BYU student has sung that refrain during Sunday worship. This Christ-centered message should guide us as we strive to root out racism in all of its forms.
During the BYU vs. Duke women’s volleyball match, Duke’s Rachel Richardson reported that she was targeted with racist slurs—the opposite of Christ’s call to love one another.
Let me be clear where BYU stands on this issue: racism is disgusting and unacceptable. We have worked to understand and follow-up on Rachel’s experience with sincere commitment and ongoing concern. To say we were extremely disheartened by her report is not strong enough language. BYU and BYU Athletics are committed to zero-tolerance of racism. Any fan found engaging in racist insults will be banned from our athletic venues.
Read the full article and response from BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe on Deseret News.