Lynne Roberts, coach of the University of Utah women’s basketball team, revealed at a press conference on Monday that her team was forced to change hotels due to “racial hate crimes” against her players while they were staying in Idaho for the NCAA tournament.
“Racism is real, it happens and it’s horrible,” Roberts told reporters, adding, “For our players, whether they’re white, black, green or whatever, no one knew how to handle it.”
The coach also said the team experienced multiple incidents while staying at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, about 30 miles east of Spokane, Washington, where they were going to play Gonzaga University. And she clarified that they were staying there due to the lack of hotel availability in Spokane during the tournament.
“In our world, in athletics and in college environments, it is shocking. “There’s so much diversity on a college campus and so you’re not exposed to that very often,” Roberts said. “And it was really disturbing,” he said.
He also added: “For our players and staff not to feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment is a disaster.”
Although Roberts did not elaborate on the incidents that led to the hotel change, he emphasized that both the NCAA and Gonzaga helped move the team to another hotel closer to Spokane.
For its part, Gonzaga University issued a statement about the situation, stating that; “Hate speech in any form is disgusting, shameful and should never be tolerated. “We have worked hard to secure the opportunity to serve as a host institution, and our first priority is and must be the safety and well-being of all student-athletes, coaches, families and support staff.”