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Did you hear the story about the young Black woman, Rachel Richardson, who experienced outrageous racism and bigotry playing in a volleyball match against BYU in Utah? I've long since heard about the racism of Utah, so that alone didn't surprise me. It didn't even surprise me to learn that the staff of BYU failed to intervene in the moment to make sure the racist taunts stopped and people were held accountable right there in the moment.
But I think Duke University is getting off far too easy here. Coaches and staff from Duke should've protected their player and refused to continue the match under such conditions. It was their responsibility to intervene and stand up for their own student so that she felt seen, valued, and protected in that moment. But it appears that simply did not happen.
Schools and athletic programs from elementary school all the way through professional sports, honestly, need to have a full game plan on what they will do in the face of racism and bigotry when they encounter it - so that when it happens, they aren't having to think creatively in the moment, but already have a strategy in place.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shaun King is one of the most followed and shared activists and journalists in the world. In addition to being the Founder and Editor in Chief of The North Star, he also leads the Grassroots Law Project and the Real Justice PAC and recently became the Contributing Editor for Newsweek. A historian by training, Shaun King is the New York Times bestselling author of Make Change: How to Fight Injustice, Dismantle Systemic Oppression, and Own Our Future. Shaun’s daily news podcast, The Breakdown with Shaun King, has been heard and shared hundreds of millions of times in almost every country in the world and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere podcasts are heard. Shaun has been with his brilliant wife, Rai, for nearly 25 years, and they are raising their 5 kids in Brooklyn, New York.
Duke University also miserably failed this student athlete : Episode 661 of The Breakdown with Shaun King