The Utah women’s basketball team had to switch hotels after experiencing what head coach Lynne Roberts called “racial hate crimes” ahead of its first NCAA tournament game.
According to Roberts, the team was staying at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, last week when the incidents occurred. This was before a first-round game against South Dakota State in Spokane, Washington, about 30 miles away.
“We had several instances of some kind of racial hate crimes towards our program, and (it was) incredibly upsetting for all of us,” Roberts told reporters on Monday.
She added: “There is so much diversity on a college campus and so you’re just not exposed to that very often … Racism is real. It happens. It’s awful. So for our players, whether they are White, Black, green, whatever, no one knew how to handle it. It was really upsetting.”
Utah defeated South Dakota State on Saturday before losing 77-66 against Gonzaga in the tournament’s second round on Monday. CNN has contacted Utah and Gonzaga for further comment.
The details of the alleged racist incidents are unclear, but Gonzaga said it may have been disparaging comments.
The NCAA said Tuesday it worked with Gonzaga and Utah to provide increased security for the Utes until new accommodations were arranged in Spokane.
