Utah NCAA team faces racial harassment; Forced to change hotels

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Green said the team, cheerleaders and members of the school band were walking to dinner when a truck approached the group, revved its engines before someone in the vehicle shouted the n-word.

“We all just were in shock, and we looked at each other like, did we just hear that? ... Everybody was in shock – our cheerleaders, our students that were in that area that heard it clearly were just frozen,” Green told KSL.com. “We kept walking, just shaking our heads, like I can’t believe that … I was just numb the entire night.”

When the group came back from dinner, something similar happened, this time with two trucks revving their engines. The n-word was directed at the group again.

“I will never forget the sound that I heard, the intimidation of the noise that came from that engine, and the [n-word],” Green said. “I go to bed and I hear it every night since I’ve been here ... I couldn’t imagine us having to stay there and relive those moments.”

Games were being played in Spokane, but many teams had to stay in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho due to a lack of hotel space.

The team changed hotels for their own safety after the racist incidents.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/26/utah-forced-to-move-hotels-at-ncaa-tournament-after-racial-hate-crimes