Racial slurs were made against members of Utah women’s basketball players as they walked from their hotel to a restaurant, an Idaho official said Tuesday.
Fox News reports that Tony Stewart, who was with the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, alleged at a news conference a pickup truck with a Confederate flag drove up near the members and taunted them with racist language, including the N-word.
The incident allegedly occurred in Coeur d’Alene before their NCAA Tournament game.
Utah guard Kennady McQueen (24) shoots while defended by Gonzaga forward Eliza Hollingsworth during the second half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash., Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
As the team left the restaurant later that night, Stewart said the same driver returned, “now reinforced by others,” revved their engines and yelled at the team again. The Fox News report continued:
Coeur d’Alene police chief Lee White said about 100 people were in the area the night of the incident and investigators still need to talk to those affected. Two state charges would be possible for those deemed involved, malicious harassment and disorderly conduct, he said.
White also said he was working with the FBI in the investigation.
“Until we get all the facts and the investigation is complete, what charges might actually be brought against the perpetrators is yet to be determined,” White added.
No suspects have been identified.
Utah, South Dakota State and UC Irvine were staying at hotels in Idaho, even with Gonzaga as the host school, because of a lack of hotel space in the Spokane area.
Utah coach Lynne Roberts confirmed the incident, AP reports.
“We had several instances of some kind of racial hate crimes toward our program and (it was) incredibly upsetting for all of us,” Roberts said.
“In our world, in athletics and in university settings, it’s shocking. There’s so much diversity on a college campus and so you’re just not exposed to that very often.”
