The University of
Utah women’s
basketball team was forced to swap hotels after receiving a torrent of racist abuse amid their campaign. For the first two rounds of , Utah competed in the McCartney Athletic Center in Spokane,
Washington but stayed at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It was not a pleasant experience for the Utes, who switched hotels as the team feared for their safety. On Thursday night, the Utes - along with the band and cheerleading team - went out to dinner to celebrate the season. En route to the restaurant, a white truck allegedly pulled up near the walking players, and revved its engines while yelling racist slurs before speeding off, leaving players and staff lost for words. “We all just were in shock, and we looked at each other like, did we just hear that?” Utah deputy athletics director Charmelle Green told . “… Everybody was in shock - our cheerleaders, our students that were in that area that heard it clearly were just frozen. We kept walking, just shaking our heads, like I can't believe that.” After dinner, Utah said they faced a similar situation as they departed the restaurant. On this occasion, they say two trucks revved and yelled intimidating racial hate language. Green, who said she was ’numb’ after the incident, added: “I got emotional and started to cry.” The Utes coordinated to walk each other back to the hotel to avoid having to go in small groups given the fears for their safety. The team then worked with the NCAA and host school to move to a hotel in Spokane - but the damage had been done. “I will never forget the sound that I heard, the intimidation of the noise that came from that engine, and the word (N-word),” Green said. “I go to bed and I hear it every night since I've been here.” On Monday, Utah head coach Lynne Roberts spoke out against the incident, declaring: “Incredibly upsetting for all of us. You think in our world, in athletics and the university settings, it's shocking. 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. “So for our players, whether they are white, black, green, whatever, no one knew how to handle it and it was really upsetting. And for our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA Tournament environment, that's messed up.” The university filed a
police report on the racial hate crimes, but there have been no updates since the report was filed. Utah exited the NCAA Tournament after falling 77-66 to Gonzaga.