Utah coach says her team had to switch hotels after racist attacks during NCAA Tournament

University of Utah’s women’s basketball coach said her team was the target of a series of “racial hate crimes” after arriving in Idaho for the NCAA Tournament last week. The incidents prompted the team to change hotels for the sake of their safety, she said. 

Utah coach Lynne Roberts told reporters that the team of Black, white and Latina athletes experienced several incidents Thursday night after arriving in the Spokane area for the tournament where they faced Gonzaga University. Roberts didn’t go into detail about the incidents, but said they were concerning enough to request that they be moved from their hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to a location closer to Spokane. 

“Racism is real and it happens and it’s awful,” Roberts told reporters on Monday. “For our players, whether they are white, Black, green, whatever — no one knew how to handle it. And it was really upsetting. And for our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it’s messed up.”

Roberts added that the NCAA and Gonzaga, the host school, worked to move the team to a different hotel. Neither Roberts nor the women’s athletics department immediately responded to a request for comment.

The Utah Utes celebrate after a basket against South Dakota State on Saturday.Steph Chambers / Getty ImagesUtah’s deputy athletics director Charmelle Green, who is Black, told Salt Lake City’s KSL News that the team, along with band members and cheerleaders, were walking to a local restaurant for dinner when someone in a white truck drove up to the group, revved its engine, and yelled the N-word before speeding away.

“We all just were in shock, and we looked at each other like, did we just hear that?” Green said. “We kept walking, just shaking our heads, like, ‘I can’t believe that.’”

The team continued with the evening. Then, as they were leaving the restaurant, two trucks came near them, the drivers revved their engines and yelled the N-word. 

“I got emotional and started to cry,” Green told KSL. “I was just numb the entire night.” 

The team was staying in Idaho, about 35 minutes from Spokane, Washington, where it was scheduled to play during the opening weekend of the tournament. Utah was one of three teams staying in Idaho instead of Washington because of a lack of hotel space in the Spokane area, where Gonzaga is located. Utah’s athletic director Mark Harlan lamented the arrangement, telling KSL, “We should not have been there.” 

Utah head coach Lynne Roberts speaks Monday in Spokane.Young Kwak / APGonzaga University officials acknowledged the situation in a statement shared on social media.

“Gonzaga University has been made aware of the racially disparaging comments made to visiting student-athletes and travel party members in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in advance of the NCAA Women’s First and Second Round Basketball Tournament games these past several days,” the statement began. 

“Hate speech in any form is repugnant, shameful and must never be tolerated. We worked hard to secure the opportunity to serve as the host institution, and our first priority is and must be the safety and welfare of all student-athletes, coaches, families and supporting staff. To this end, we have worked closely with the NCAA and program participants to support the security and safety of everyone involved. We are frustrated and deeply saddened to know that what should always be an amazing visitor and championship experience was in any way compromised by this situation, for it in no way reflects the values, standards, and beliefs to which we at Gonzaga University hold ourselves accountable.”

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Char Adams

Char Adams is a reporter for NBC BLK who writes about race.