The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team will begin their season on November 7th at home against BYU. However, head coach Dawn Staley has canceled the contest and their road matchup with the Cougars after a fan from the Utah school shouted racial slurs at a Duke volleyball player recently.
Staley released this statement announcing her decision, via ESPN: “As a head coach, my job is to do what's best for my players and staff. The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don't feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.”
Blue Devils sophomore Rachel Richardson, who is black, said she heard racial remarks yelled at her recently when facing BYU. While the school did apologize for the incident and banned the fan for good, it's still left Staley and Co. with a bad taste in their mouths. You can't blame them.
The South Carolina Gamecocks are searching for a team to play in November in place of BYU. The Cougars weren't pleased with the news on Friday night though, tweeting out in displeasure:
“We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina's decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the ongoing investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another.”
We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina’s decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the on-going investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another. #LoveOneAnother
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) September 3, 2022
The South Carolina Gamecocks are coming off a national title, beating UConn in the final.
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