{"id":3998,"date":"2022-08-29T15:52:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T19:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/?p=3998"},"modified":"2022-08-30T09:08:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T13:08:32","slug":"byu-duke-volleyball-game-showed-how-lonely-the-fight-against-racism-can-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/byu-duke-volleyball-game-showed-how-lonely-the-fight-against-racism-can-be\/","title":{"rendered":"BYU Volleyball Game Showed How Lonely The Fight Against Racism Can Be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday night in Provo, Utah, Rachel Richardson took her place on the court for Duke University volleyball against BYU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s something she&#8217;s done thousands of times in her volleyball career. Something she&#8217;s used to doing under the oftentimes relentless guise of competition and fans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She&#8217;s faced hundreds of competitors in gyms across the country and heard all of the jeers that fans heckle opposing players with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But on Friday night, <a href=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/black-duke-volleyball-player-targeted-by-racist-taunts-at-byu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one of those jeers ventured into territory that only individuals like Richardson can feel<\/a>, be targeted with and be impacted by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s a jeer that racist offenders purposely use to demean, harass, insult, humiliate and intimidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Ni**er!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWhile playing yesterday, she was called a ni**er every time she served. She was threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus.&quot;<br><br>A Black Duke volleyball player was subjected to racist taunts at their game against BYU.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nhnam2jSnP\">https:\/\/t.co\/Nhnam2jSnP<\/a><\/p>&mdash; First and Pen (@firstandpen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/firstandpen\/status\/1563649808199548928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That inflammatory word incites anger ad frustration and ignites a fury that only Black people can truly experience and understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And regardless of the feeling of some, or the conjugation of the last two letters, it is not a term of endearment.<\/p><div id=\"first-4210336311\" class=\"first-content first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream2 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700413625220-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700413625220-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It never was nor ever will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday night, that was obvious. Yet apparently, it was only obvious to one person- Rachel Richardson, the Black Duke sophomore volleyball player targeted by the racist fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Out of the thousands in attendance at the Smith Fieldhouse at BYU, Robinson stood alone through every single racist taunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And no one said anything.<\/p><div id=\"first-4046533639\" class=\"first-content_2 first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream3 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700413989195-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700413989195-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not the fans, not the officials, not the coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not a soul did anything to deter the humiliation endured by Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So lacking support, she chose to ignore and tolerate the pain alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Although the heckling eventually took a mental toll on me, I refused to allow it to stop me from doing what I love to do and what I came to BYU to do,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rachrich03\/status\/1563931324569849856\">said Richardson in her statement on Twitter.<\/a> &#8220;I refused to allow those racist bigots to feel any degree of satisfaction from thinking that their comments had &#8216;gotten to me.&#8217; So I pushed through and finished the game.&#8221;<\/p><div id=\"first-4012457645\" class=\"first-content_3 first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream4 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700414036595-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700414036595-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a brave moment for the young Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She chose to push through despite the pain and anger to finish the game, and that&#8217;s admirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But her decision masked the absence of support and camouflaged the fact that she suffered alone in order to be a teammate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s something she should not have had to do, yet it&#8217;s something so many Black people are unfairly coerced to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can happen anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can be a racist joke, a seemingly innocent comment or any microaggression you could imagine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regardless of the instance, it&#8217;s an emotional moment that only Black people can experience and that only Black people, as the victims, must involuntarily endure because they&#8217;re the intended victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richardson chose to ignore it in order to perform her job, which is, unfortunately, not uncommon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that&#8217;s the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lacking support and defenders makes the fight against <a href=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/tag\/racism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">racism<\/a> a lonely and insufferable experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a 19-year-old, surrounded by thousands of fans, mostly white fans at that, that only amplifies the solitude Richardson had to suffer through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Couldn&#8217;t one single fan have stood up to help her? What about her teammates?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ksl.com\/article\/50465075\/byu-bans-fan-after-alleged-racial-incident-with-duke-volleyball-player\">According to KSL.com<\/a>, it wasn&#8217;t until the middle of the second set that a police officer was seen near the Duke bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By then, the damage had been done. Even though Richardson fought through the experience, she admitted the racist taunting took its toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to her, &#8220;my fellow African American teammates and I were targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So everyone in that fieldhouse catered to racism for they allowed the behavior to persist for the entire match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richardson also mentioned that the officials and BYU coaches were alerted to the situation. Yet by not stopping the game and\/or immediately removing the racist, those in charge placated racism&#8217;s voracious, ignorant appetite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even worse, they enabled it by letting it persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist,&#8221; wrote Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And to do that, all someone in Smith Fieldhouse had to do was say something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s not Richardson&#8217;s job to do what others had the moral and adult responsibility to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it transpired at a Mormon institution!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Sunday, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe addressed the crowd before that night&#8217;s volleyball crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe addresses fans in attendance before tonight&#39;s game. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UH0URY7Svx\">pic.twitter.com\/UH0URY7Svx<\/a><\/p>&mdash; BYU Women\u2019s Volleyball (@BYUwvolleyball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BYUwvolleyball\/status\/1563761333945843713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I asked that everyone at all of our games that represent BYU, that you will have the courage to take a stand,&#8221; implored Holmoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Racism is not an easy subject for everyone to address. That&#8217;s especially true for many Black people like Richardson who are in unfamiliar environments where they&#8217;re in the minority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To take a stand against it requires compassion and courage, both of which are infectious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When one takes a stand, it can spread like wildfire in a dehydrated field. That&#8217;s why the officials and\/or coaches from BOTH teams should have done something like stop the match or, in Duke&#8217;s case, walk off the floor until justice was served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, that was a neglected option in Utah on Friday night. As a result, one player was harmed in ways that no one but those who look like her can fathom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet all it would have taken was one for one understanding, brave voice to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday night in Provo, Utah, Rachel Richardson took her place on the court for Duke University volleyball against BYU. It&#8217;s something she&#8217;s done thousands of times in her volleyball career. Something she&#8217;s used to doing under the oftentimes relentless guise of competition and fans. She&#8217;s faced hundreds of competitors in gyms across the country [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[830,198,167,697],"class_list":["post-3998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-byu","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-racism","tag-volleyball"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BYU Volleyball Game Showed How Lonely The Fight Against Racism Can Be<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The fight against racism can be a lonely one, especially for Black people lacking support. 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