• Loading stock data...
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

How Lack of Planning by NCAA, Gonzaga Led to Racial Abuse of Utah Athletes

  • Utah women’s basketball experienced racial abuse during the NCAA tournament.
  • The NCAA gave Gonzaga a waiver to place teams in an extremist hotbed.
Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports

The Utah women’s basketball team faced incidents of racial hate while traveling between their hotel and their restaurant for dinner this weekend.

“For our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it’s messed up,” head coach Lynne Roberts said in a press conference, where she said the team moved hotels out of concerns for player safety.

Local officials held a press conference to apologize, which included interjections from far-right extremists. The governor, mayor, and president of the region’s Tri-State Conference of the NAACP responded with statements. The FBI is involved.

Several drivers reportedly encountered or waited for the Utah traveling party outside of a restaurant and shouted the n-word at them before and after their meal, according to KSL.com. Three factors led to this preventable breakdown.

Spokane was packed.

The men’s tournament plays first and second-round games at neutral sites planned years in advance, with Spokane as a men’s host city this year, while the women’s tournament plays at the top seed, Gonzaga this year. A large youth volleyball tournament held during the same weekend brought in even more visitors. 

Gonzaga allowed it.

Women’s host No. 4 Gonzaga didn’t have enough space for any of its visitors and found space about 30 miles away in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The city and surrounding region have a longstanding reputation as a “hotbed” for right-wing extremists and white nationalists.

And the NCAA allowed it.

Gonzaga received a waiver from the NCAA to put UC Irvine and Utah in Coeur d’Alene. South Dakota State stayed nearby in Post Falls on the Idaho-Washington border. After the incidents, both UC Irvine and Utah moved to hotels in Spokane.

Many women’s basketball fans love the home court advantage and atmosphere during the NCAA tournament, and even prefer it to a neutral site. But the lack of oversight is unacceptable. It was Gonzaga’s responsibility as a host site to host these teams, and safety and security is the bare minimum. Gonzaga administrators must have known Coeur d’Alene’s reputation and history of hostility toward visitors. The NCAA is also to blame, not only for approving an unsafe location but also for placing responsibility on Gonzaga to find sites when its men’s tournament helped create the hotel shortage in Spokane. If the NCAA is going to keep the model of having women’s teams at home sites for the first and second rounds, it needs to guarantee that those players will not be an afterthought simply because the men’s neutral sites are organized first.

The Utes are an elite basketball team, led by former Pac-12 player of the year Alissa Pili. She dropped 37 points in January in the Utes’ 20-point win over USC, a team that is now a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Pili had 35 in her team’s second-round loss to Gonzaga on Monday night.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

President Donald Trump speaks during the American 250 kickoff event on July 3, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrouds.

Trump Signs Executive Order on College Sports Pay

The order marks Trump’s first foray into legislating college sports compensation.
A view of the United States Capitol on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

Pro-NCAA Bill Passes Two Markups in Path to House Floor

The bill faces bigger challenges in the Senate.
Yucca and Gary Rieschel are donating $10 million to be used to bolster the USOPC’s mental health program. Syndication Westchester County Journal News

USOPC Follows Trump Order Banning Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports

The change impacts governing bodies, which extend beyond Olympic competition.

Featured Today

Coco Gauff at New York Liberty

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
Stanford

John Donahoe Taking Over Stanford Sports After Rocky Nike Tenure

John Donahoe will be Stanford’s AD after a four-year stint running Nike.
Rutgers
July 28, 2025

Rutgers Finds New Athletic Director After Almost a Year

Rutgers’s previous athletic director, Pat Hobbs, resigned in August 2024.
NCAA Track
July 31, 2025

NIL Collectives Can Still Pay College Athletes, With Some Restrictions

NIL collectives will still play a pivotal role in recruiting.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 24, 2025

UNC’s Bill Belichick Brings His NFL Swagger to ACC Media Days

UNC is becoming one of the most interesting stories in college football.
July 24, 2025

ACC’s Phillips on FSU, Clemson: ‘It Can Never Be About a School..

The commissioner isn’t worried about more conference realignment.
Jul 22, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort.
exclusive
July 23, 2025

As Other Power Leagues Shy Away From PE, the Big Ten Continues..

Tony Petitti told FOS conversations were ongoing.
Bill Belichick
July 23, 2025

UNC Sells Out All Football Tickets for Belichick Debut Season

Consistent drama around Belichick’s first college season has only helped ticket sales.