Dawn Staley cancels South Carolina women's basketball series with BYU following racial slur incident

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women's basketball canceled its two-game series with Brigham Young University after a BYU fan directed racial slurs at a Black Duke volleyball player during a game.

“As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff," said coach Dawn Staley in a release from the South Carolina athletic department. "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.”

The game against BYU was scheduled for Nov. 7 in Columbia with another matchup planned for the 2023-2024 season at BYU. Per the release, the Gamecocks are now seeking another opponent for Nov. 7.

“Dawn and I have discussed her thoughts on the situation," said athletic director Ray Tanner in the release. "I support Dawn and all of our coaches in their right to schedule games and opponents that are best for their teams.”

Opinion: In the BYU-Duke volleyball story, a racist, a plethora of failures, and a hero

The incident at the volleyball game occurred Aug. 27. The accusations first surfaced via Lesa Pamplin, a Fort Worth, Texas, attorney, who said the Duke player, Rachel Richardson, is her goddaughter and the only Black starter for the Blue Devils.

Pamplin said in a Twitter post that BYU fans directed slurs at Richardson every time she served. She also said that Richardson was threatened and authorities had to sit at the Duke bench for their protection.

BYU issued a statement apologizing to Duke volleyball and said a fan, who was not a student, was banned from attending all future athletic events.

"To say we are extremely disheartened in the actions of a small number of fans in last night's volleyball match in the Smith Fieldhouse between BYU and Duke is not strong enough language," the school said in its statement. "We will not tolerate behavior of this kind. Specially, the use of a racial slur at any of our athletic events is absolutely unacceptable and BYU Athletics holds a zero tolerance approach to this behavior. We want BYU athletic events to provide a safe environment for all, and there is no place for behaviors like this at our venues."

Staley expressed support for Richardson on Aug. 28 on Twitter in a reply to Richardson's tweeted statement.

"Rachel you and your teammates are incredibly brave," Staley wrote. "This is one more hurdle Black athletes have to leap because they are Black. Rachel…your mental strength and endurance should not have been tested in this manner….but when it was you passed. Godspeed to you all!"

Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley cancels South Carolina series with BYU after racial slur