Racial Slur at BYU Game - Real or Hoax?

[smac97]

2 minutes ago, Amulek said:

I'm skeptical about how useful the recorded audio is for determining something like this. Unless somebody was yelling while the crowd was silent I'm not sure how you would be able to tell much of anything.

For those who have watched the recorded game footage, how many individual comments are you able to discern?

Not much at all.  But doesn't that cut against her claims of having "{v}ery distinctly ... I heard" a racial slur, and then "heard it extremely clear again"? 

2 minutes ago, Amulek said:

Quote

4 witnesses state they did not hear anything

I agree. Same goes for the officer - though I don't remember from the timeline whether or not he was positioned there until after the second occurrence or not.

The Cougar Chronical article also quotes several additional witnesses (who heard nothing): Vera Smith, Jacob Hanson (this one seems more hearsay, though), Maddy Johnson.

The article also quotes a source inside BYUPD stating: "{There} is zero evidence of a slur being said. Not a single witness, besides Ms. Richardson, has come forth. Not a single cell phone video or BYUtv's several camera angles caught a single thing. How unlikely when this person supposedly said a slur during ‘every single serve.'"

Thanks,

-Smac

[teddyaware]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

Because I think you have blinders on in this case and are too focused on only one possibility and are drawn to references that are confirming that perception. 

What do you think the possibilities are that in this day and age an extremely loud, obnoxious individual (in at least one of Richardson’s accounts, she indicates there was more than one intimidating harasser) could shout out the n-word multiple times throughout the game, with great volume and crystal clear clarity, and yet not be heard by anyone else in the crowd except for Richardson?

And what do you think the chances are that there is some racist out there who thought he could stroll into to a BYU girl’s volleyball game, and loudly shout out the n-word multiple times throughout the game and not expect to have the decent people in the stands get him cornered and have him expelled from the game?

Apropos to the second question, isn’t it also very obvious that the only way the harasser could ever begin to imagine that he would be able to successfully pull off his spectacularly obvious act of hate, and not get caught, would be if he was quite confident ahead of time that the whole crowd of fans within earshot of him would also be racists, and for this reason they would all be willing to lie and cover for a stranger?

While not impossible, Richardson’s accusations of overt, bald faced racial harassment during that game seem highly unlikely. But a big problem comes in when a large segment of society fervently wants the accusations to be true and the pain of cognitive dissonance won’t allow them to think rationally.

Edited September 9, 2022 by teddyaware

[Calm]

19 minutes ago, Amulek said:

For those who have watched the recorded game footage, how many individual comments are you able to discern?

No one here has probably heard it without the game commentary, which was removed to help clear up the background noise some.

[Amulek]

16 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Not much at all.  But doesn't that cut against her claims of having "{v}ery distinctly ... I heard" a racial slur, and then "heard it extremely clear again"? 

I don't think so. I heard plenty of stuff at games that you wouldn't be able to hear on the broadcasts. It isn't like they are putting microphones on the crowds to capture their comments.

 

[Calm]

9 minutes ago, teddyaware said:

What do you think the possibilities are that in this day and age an extremely loud, obnoxious individual (in at least one of Richardson’s accounts, she indicates there was more than one intimidating harasser) could shout out the n-word multiple times throughout the game, with great volume and crystal clear clarity, and yet not be heard by anyone else in the crowd except for Richardson?

And what do you think the chances are that there is some racist out there who thought he could stroll into to a BYU girl’s volleyball game, and loudly shout out the n-word multiple times throughout the game and not expect to have the decent people in the stands get him cornered and have him expelled from the game?

Apropos to the second question, isn’t it also very obvious that the only way the harasser could ever begin to imagine that he would be able to successfully pull off his spectacularly obvious act of hate, and not get caught, would be if he was quite confident ahead of time that the whole crowd of fans within earshot of him would also be racists, and for this reason they would all be willing to lie and cover for a stranger?

While not impossible, Richardson’s accusations of overt, bald faced racial harassment during that game seem highly unlikely. But a big problem comes in when a large segment of society fervently wants the accusations to be true and the pain of cognitive dissonance won’t allow them to think rationally.

That you challenge my post as if I made the claim that a slur was actually made leads me to think you are seeing what you expect to see…perhaps like Richardson heard what she expected to hear if someone had told her there were racists in Utah, at BYU, whatever.

[Bernard Gui]

3 hours ago, smac97 said:

Not sure that's true.  Jussie Smollett sure got a lot of attention.  

I think the problem is that stories are immediately broadcast and sensationalized by social and news media without any investigation. Once the story is out, people swiftly leap to whatever conclusions they wish and file off to their various fortresses. This draws more audience and generates more profits, but once the hive is poked there’s no putting the hornets back in even when further details that may modify the story are learned. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[Fair Dinkum]

I believe Rachel Richardson heard what she claimed she heard and I believe that the BYU investigation found no audible evidence to support her claim.  Both can in fact be true.

[Craig Speechly]

We are now in that icky place between claims of racism and unsupporting evidence. I believe Rachel Richardson when she says she heard racial slurs, I believe BYU when they say they found no supporting evidence from the various recordings of the event. But the world demands a scapegoat and now we have no one to pin the racist banner onto other than ourselves.

 

We all need to be better when confronting racism. Each of us is responsible for standing up to this evil in society by speaking up whenever encountering racism in our society and holding those responsible accountable.

 

What happened to Rachel Richardson is not ok but neither is pinning blame on innocent people just so we can feel cleansed of our societal racism.

 

We all need to be better

Edited September 9, 2022 by Craig Speechly

[Bernard Gui]

22 minutes ago, Fair Dinkum said:

I believe Rachel Richardson heard what she claimed she heard and I believe that the BYU investigation found no audible evidence to support her claim.  Both can in fact be true.

But now the guilty verdict is forever planted in the courts of social media without any evidence to support it. It appears that the story has achieved its purpose, so we move on to the next.

Edited September 9, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[jkwilliams]

Just now, Bernard Gui said:

But the guilt is established in the court of social media without any evidence.

Yep, on both sides. Some people on this thread are acting like she’s the anti-Christ. 

[Bernard Gui]

15 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

Yep, on both sides. Some people on this thread are acting like she’s the anti-Christ. 
 

The evidence for and against the claim leans in only one direction.

Being accused of racism is no trivial matter. In this case one serious consequence is the cancellation of an athletic contest. Another is the condemnation and negative stereotyping of a major university and a world-wide church based on no evidence.

The damage is done and there appears to be no remedy.

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[ksfisher]

28 minutes ago, Craig Speechly said:

now we have no one to pin the racist banner onto other than ourselves.

I'm not sure there's a need to pin anything on anyone.

A 19 year old made a mistake.  Whether it was with or without malice it appears she made an accusation that has been shown to be without merit.

I'm glad the mistakes that I made as a 19 year old didn't make headlines.

I hope that she can put this behind her and go on and have a fantastic college experience.

[jkwilliams]

3 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Being accused of racism is no trivial matter. In this case one serious consequence is the cancellation of an athletic contest. Another is the condemnation and negative stereotyping of a major university and a world-wide church based on no evidence. The damage is done and there appears to be no going back.

Completely understand that. It doesn’t mean she maliciously lied. Like I said, BYU is in a no-win situation. The whole thing sucks. 

[Kenngo1969]

55 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

I'm not sure there's a need to pin anything on anyone.

A 19 year old made a mistake.  Whether it was with or without malice it appears she made an accusation that has been shown to be without merit.

I'm glad the mistakes that I made as a 19 year old didn't make headlines.

I hope that she can put this behind her and go on and have a fantastic college experience.

I think her godmother is attempting to use this to make political hay in her campaign for the office she is seeking.  I think she the one who should apologize to BYU, et al, and, essentially, she has put her goddaughter in the awkward position of not being able to apologize or to retract anything, lest she [Rachel, the godmother, the family, etc.] lose face.

But of course, I ain't holdin' my breath.

Edited September 9, 2022 by Kenngo1969

[JarMan]

I have a strong suspicion that most of the people surmising that this woman simply misheard something do not actually know what she has said about it. Here are some statements you need to consider:

"At first it was like, did I really hear that. Like, I didn't really believe it. The next time I went back to serve I was like, ok yep, I definitely heard that right."

". . .my fellow African American teammates and I were heckled throughout the entirety of the match. The slurs and comments grew into threats which caused us to feel unsafe."

"Very distinctly I heard a very strong and negative racial slur. And the next time I went back to serve I heard it extremely clear again."

"And even my black teammates who were on the bench who don't play, they were being called out, pointed at. It was really confusing as to why. That's when the racial slurs became more extreme, more intense."

Her godmother tweeted the following:

"She was called [the n-word] every time she served. She was threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus."

This describes a pattern of harassment during the entire match and a close-up verbal threat afterwards.

 

 

 

[bsjkki]

[ksfisher]

23 minutes ago, JarMan said:

This describes a pattern of harassment during the entire match and a close-up verbal threat afterwards.

Which not a single other person has come forward to verify.  Not the ushers.  Not the police officer that was present.  Not the people in the stands.  Not her own team mates.  No evidence from the game broadcast. No one.  

[JarMan]

If you can't understand why somebody would perpetrate a hoax like this, consider the following items.

The volleyball player and her teammates took part in "A Long Talk about the Uncomfortable Truth" which is an "anti-racism activation experience." The website lists three learning targets with the third reading as follows: 

Activating Your Activism - I will understand the reality that creating a counter culture of anti-racism can only happen through collective, consistent and courageous acts of identifying and interrupting racism.

It sounds like she's been radicalized at least partly through this experience. You can see further evidence of her mindset from her twitter post and interview. Here are some excerpts:

"Tom Holmoe was quick to act in a very respectful and genuine manner. He is at the forefront of ensuring that the BYU athletic staff and players undergo education and training to better handle and prevent the racist, ignorant, and asinine behaviors that were exhibited by their fans during the match." Holmoe is unimpeachable because he has been was incorporating "A Long Talk" into the BYU athletic department.

"It is neither my nor Duke Volleyball's goal to call BYU's athletics out but rather to call them up. This is not the first time this has happened in college athletics and sadly it likely will not be the last time. However, each time it happens we as student athletes, coaches, fans, and administrators have a chance to educate those who act in hateful ways. This is an opportunity to dig deep into closed cultures which tolerate amoral racist acts, such as those exhibited Friday night, and change them for the better. It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist." She speaks here on behalf of Duke Volleyball, which appears to be a freudian slip indicating someone from Duke administration helped craft this response.

"Finally I understand some people would have liked more to happen in the moment, such as an immediate protest and refusal to play on. Although the heckling eventually took a mental toll on me, I refused to allow it to stop me from doing what I love to do and what I came to BYU to do; which was to play volleyball. I refused to allow those racist bigots to see any degree of satisfaction from thinking their comments had gotten to me." What a strong woman.

"Even if this wasn't a student who was doing this, there were students nearby. And so the fact that they didn't know what to do, to call him out or let him know 'that's not accepted here, you need to stop.' It's a level of ignorance. There's a lack of knowledge on racism and how to deal with it. That's how you have things like this continue to happen." Sounds like an advertisement for this "A Long Talk" course. She should be getting comped for all the publicity. Maybe she is with the new NIL rules.

"I believe God puts you in places at certain times, near certain people for specific reasons. And I believe that, and my teammates that, for some reason, my name was the one that blew up and I wholeheartedly (believe) that's because God had a purpose behind it. And that purpose was that maybe he knew that I would be able to meet people with compassion. And I don't want BYU to be singled out or looked at as a bad institution because of this one thing … that doesn't represent the entire university of BYU." It's good thing God chose you for this difficult mission. Just know that any criticism or backlash you may receive is part of God's plan, as well, because he knew how strong a woman you are.

Edited September 9, 2022 by JarMan

[Bernard Gui]

1 hour ago, ksfisher said:

I'm glad the mistakes that I made as a 19 year old didn't make headlines.

Will someone say, “Amen?”

[Bernard Gui]

45 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

“I continue to stand by my position because…………….

 

…………………………..….I did some personal research.”

Great example of immediately leaping to a conclusion and remaining in your fortress despite contrary information. Coach, how is your team threatened? 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[JarMan]

5 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Will someone say, “Amen?”

Duke is now complicit in the hoax. It would be more appropriate to direct some more of the ire their way. This was planned and executed to perfection. And now Duke is helping to cover it up. But this woman can't be let off the hook any more than, say, a 19 year old man who commits a serious crime.

[jkwilliams]

2 minutes ago, JarMan said:

Duke is now complicit in the hoax. It would be more appropriate to direct some more of the ire their way. This was planned and executed to perfection. And now Duke is helping to cover it up. But this woman can't be let off the hook any more than, say, a 19 year old man who commits a serious crime.

Can we please lose the hyperbole? It doesn’t help. 

[JarMan]

1 minute ago, jkwilliams said:

Can we please lose the hyperbole? It doesn’t help. 

There is no hyperbole. Nice try.

Edited September 9, 2022 by JarMan

[Bernard Gui]

12 hours ago, JarMan said:

I believe God puts you in places at certain times, near certain people for specific reasons. And I believe that, and my teammates that, for some reason, my name was the one that blew up and I wholeheartedly (believe) that's because God had a purpose behind it. And that purpose was that maybe he knew that I would be able to meet people with compassion. And I don't want BYU to be singled out or looked at as a bad institution because of this one thing … that doesn't represent the entire university of BYU.

Yet that is precisely the result of the unsubstantiated allegation.

Exhibit 1. Coach Staley cancelling the game with BYU.

Exhibit 2.

Quote

This is an opportunity to dig deep into closed cultures which tolerate amoral racist acts, such as those exhibited Friday night, and change them for the better. It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist.

BYU tolerates amoral racists acts and needs to change but we don’t want to single it out. We don’t want it to be looked at as a bad institution, but it does tolerate amoral racist acts.

But that is precisely what has happened. 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[smac97]

2 hours ago, jkwilliams said:

Completely understand that. It doesn’t mean she maliciously lied. Like I said, BYU is in a no-win situation. The whole thing sucks. 

I'm sort of splitting the difference.  I don't think it started as a malicious thing, but it seems to be ending up as a race hoax.  

I will be interesting to see if Rachel Richardson and/or her godmother will retract and apologize for their accusations.

I wonder if we are seeing a sort of "moral panic" hysteria about racism, in some ways akin to the daycare child abuse panic of the 80s and 90s:

Quote

Day-care sex-abuse hysteria was a moral panic that occurred primarily during the 1980s and early 1990s, and featured charges against day-care providers accused of committing several forms of child abuse, including Satanic ritual abuse.^[1][2] The collective cases are often considered a part of the Satanic Panic. A 1982 case in Kern County, California, United States, first publicized the issue of day-care sexual abuse, and the issue figured prominently in news coverage for almost a decade. The Kern County case was followed by cases elsewhere in the United States, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Brazil, and various European countries.
...

• 3 Significant cases
• 3.1 McMartin Preschool
• 3.2 Country Walk
• 3.3 Fells Acres Day Care Center
• 3.4 Bernard Baran
• 3.5 The Bronx Five
• 3.6 Wee Care Nursery School
• 3.7 Glendale Montessori
• 3.8 Little Rascals
• 3.9 Dale Akiki
• 3.10 Oak Hill satanic ritual abuse trial
• 3.11 Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions
• 3.12 Christchurch Civic Crèche
• 3.13 Martensville satanic sex scandal

This would actually go a ways into contextualizing and explaining the prevalence of race hoaxes. 

Nobody can or ought to look at the foregoing falsified and life-destroying and say "Well, these falsified instances demonstrate that there was no problem with child abuse during that time."   That would be foolish, as of course there was a problem.  But part of that problem was the "moral panic" aspect, in which otherwise normal and decent people went on witch hunts and ended up "finding" abuse that, in hindsight, had never occurred.  But in the process, many lives and reputations were destroyed.

More recently, we've seen another instance of a moral panic in the QAnon theory:

Quote

The core QAnon theory is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic sexual abusers of children operating a global child sex trafficking ring conspired against former U.S. President Donald Trump during his term in office. QAnon has direct roots in Pizzagate, an internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier; it also incorporates elements of many other theories.

From this toxic stew of partisan politics, anger, and fears about abuse of children comes allegations that are facially suspicious and absurd, yet are nevertheless in some quarters treated with earnest seriousness, and even reflexively accepted as true.  Reasoned and fair-handed evaluation of evidence doesn't matter.  It's all about the narrative.

The problems here are legion.  QAnon plays on (exploits, really) the sexual abuse of children, which is a legitimate and real-world problem.  But QAnon is nevertheless a pastiche of speculations, insinuations, rumors, and falsehoods.

Jussie Smollett exploited three fairly legitimate sources of fear/angst: racism (he is black), animus against gays (he is gay), and political vilification (he fabricated an attack by Trump supporters).  Is racism a problem in the United States?  Yes.  But was Smollett the victim of it?  No.  Is animus against gays a problem in the United States?  Yes.  But was Smollett the victim of it?  No.  Are there people who believe their political viewpoints give them license to express political disagreement through violence?  Yes.  But was Smollett the victim of such violence?  No.  In fact, his story was so outlandish that it makes you marvel that he thought he could get away with it.  And yet obviously, he did think he could get away with it.  

Did Rachel Richardson show up in Provo primed to "find" racism there?  Given the tone and tenor of her godmother, as well as other factors, I think that's possible.

Did she thereafter "hear" something that, in hindsight and in light of the extensive investigation, did not happen?  Yes.

Did she subsequently embellish/embroider her recollection in ways that went beyond what she actually experienced (that she "very distinctly" heard the slurs, that the "slurs" turned into "threats," etc.)?  That is sounding increasingly plausible.

Did she unload this onto her already-having-a-heap-of-racial-animosity-in-her-own-right "godmother," who embellished and exaggerated the accusations even further, and did so on social media?  Again, this is sounding increasingly likely.

Was her initial accusation a heat-of-the-moment thing that, in the space of just a few days, spun out of her control?  I think so.

Did a confluence of events and circumstances, together with the foregoing embellishments/exaggerations of an already dubious accusation end up being a "race hoax?"  Candidly, I think so.

Did Rachel Richardson start out with malicious motives?  No evidence of that.  But she's now painted herself into a corner, such that continuing the falsehood is "easier" than admitting what appears to be the truth: that she made a terrible mistake, and that her accusations were unfounded.  

Rachel Richardson is no longer driving the narrative she started, but she sure seems to be going along with it.  Her school is doubling down, insisting that they "unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question."  Duke is turning this into a BYU-is-lying thing, and Richardson is letting it happen.  Other fallout, such as the cancellation of two women's b-ball games between BYU and University of South Carolina (in direct response to Richardson's accusations against BYU), is also moving forward, with the head coach today saying that she "continue{s} to stand by {her} position."  And in response to that, "{a} group of lawmakers, known as the South Carolina Freedom Caucus, is seeking clarification for USC's decision to cancel a two-game series against BYU women's basketball. ... Staley and Athletics Director Ray Tanner were sent a letter on Wednesday from lawmakers questioning why this decision was made.  'If this incident turns out to be false, which again, every piece of evidence suggests that it is, the University of South Carolina owes BYU an apology for sure,' said representative RJ May."  Heather Olmstead, the women's volleyball coach at BYU, has "received death threats."

Rachel Richardson.  The UVU student.  The reputation and good name of BYU.  Her godmother's reputation, character, and campaign for political office.  Duke University, implicitly accusing BYU in public.  The University of South Carolina cancelling b-ball games.  Legislators from South Carolina demanding answers.  Death threats.  The ripples continue to widen outward.

Did Rachel Richardson intend all this?  No.  But she sure could end a lot of it by retracting her accusations and apologizing for the misunderstanding.

Thanks,

-Smac

Edited September 10, 2022 by smac97