SPOKANE, Wash. (ABC4 Sports) – Losing in the NCAA Tournament is tough enough to deal with, but the Utes women’s
basketball team was dealing with much more than that after getting eliminated by Gonzaga Monday night.
Utah head coach Lynne Roberts opened up about some “racial hate crimes” her team was exposed to at their hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. They were forced to switch hotels, which became a distraction. “You think in our world, in athletics and the university settings, it’s shocking,” Roberts said. “There’s so much diversity on a college campus and so you’re just not exposed to that very often. And so when you are, it’s like, you have people say, ‘Man, I can’t believe that happened.’ But
racism is real and it happens, and it’s awful.” Listen to Lynne Roberts talk about the "racial hate crimes" her Utah women's basketball team was exposed to at the NCAA Tournament, that forced them to switch hotels in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. pic.twitter.com/ZMtJLa35yf Roberts did not elaborate on what exactly was done to her team, but said the incident marred what was supposed to be a joyous time for the Utes. “It was a distraction, and upsetting and unfortunate,” Roberts said. “This should be a positive for everybody involved. It should be a joyous time for our program. And to have kind of a black eye on that experiences is unfortunate.” Gonzaga released a statement Monday night saying, “Hate speech in any form is repugnant, shameful and must never be tolerated,” the statement says in part. “We worked hard to secure the opportunity to serve as the host institution, and our first priority is and must be the safety and welfare of all student-athletes, coaches, families and supporting staff. “We are frustrated and deeply saddened to know that what should always be an amazing visitor and championship experience was in any way compromised by this situation, for it in no way reflects the values, standards, and beliefs to which we at Gonzaga University hold ourselves accountable.” pic.twitter.com/e2w3847kTR Utah’s season ended with a 77-66 loss to Gonzaga, but Roberts hopes the incident at the hotel is investigated.