COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Last week’s NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament was marred by racial taunts that forced the University of Utah team to move hotels from Coeur d’Alene to Spokane, Washington.
The incident started March 21at about 6 p.m. as the women’s basketball team, along with members of the marching band and cheerleading team, went out to dinner at the pub Crafted, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. As the group walked down the street, a white pickup truck revved its engine and the driver yelled the N-word at the team, reports KSL.
The group kept walking, shaking their heads, and then continued on to the pub.
After dinner, as they were walking back to their hotel, two trucks, one with a Confederate flag, revved their engines, made a lot of noise, and again yelled the N-word at the group.
It’s unclear exactly how many instances of racial taunts happened that evening. ESPN is reporting that Utah Coach Lynne Roberts said there were several incidents. What made the threats even more troubling was the fact that the police escort for the tournament was from Washington, so it didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter.
The threats forced the team to move to a different hotel that was located in Spokane, which is about 35 miles away. The NCAA and host team, Gonzaga, helped the University of Utah find new accommodations.
Utah, as well as teams from South Dakota State, and UC Irvine were also staying at hotels in Coeur d’Alene because there weren’t enough hotels in Spokane where the tournament was taking place. Although UC Irvine wasn’t involved in the incident, the team also requested to move “for the wellbeing and safety of our student-athletes and the entire travel party,” reports ESPN.
Local officials in Coeur d’ Alene are investigating the matter, and are asking for video of the incidents, as well as witnesses to come forward. On Tuesday, Mayor Jim Hammon held a news conference about the threats, and apologized to the team.
“To the young women who endured racial slurs while visiting, I offer my most sincere apology,” he said, reports KSL.
