BYU says investigation found no evidence of racial harassment at volleyball

Duke University Vice President and Athletics Director Nina King issued a statement Friday following the BYU statement.

“The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity,” King said. “We stand by them and support them unequivocally, especially when their character is questioned.”

While watching the match on TV at the Richardsons’ family home, Marvin Richardson said he had “no idea” what happened during the match, but that his daughter detailed her experience to him afterwards.

“After the match, we [Rachel and I] I always talked and called, but this was a different call,” Marvin said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“She was crying, she was upset and Rachel wasn’t the one calling and crying about the loss, it’s just not who she is. So we knew something was wrong, and then she started telling us what was going on and what happened during the match first [we felt] Anger and anger and then just a real need to make sure that something was done to correct the things we came across.”

BYU said it reviewed the audio and video recordings, along with the university’s broadcast footage, and interviewed more than 50 people at the match as well as Duke and BYU athletes and student athletes.

“As previously stated, we will not tolerate any behavior that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe. This is the reason for our immediate response and the thorough investigation we conducted,” the statement said.

“Although we were unable to find supporting evidence of racial slurs in numerous recordings and interviews, we hope that all participants understand our sincere efforts to ensure that all student-athletes competing at BYU feel safe,” BYU said.