Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Utah's Alyssa Pili dribbles against South Dakota State.
CNN
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The Utah women's basketball team had to change hotels before their first game of the NCAA Tournament after experiencing what head coach Lynn Roberts called a “racial hate crime.”
Roberts said the team was staying at a hotel in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, last week before the first-round game against South Dakota State in Spokane, Washington, when the incident occurred.
“There have been several instances of some type of racial hate crime against our program. [it was] It's incredibly upsetting for all of us,” Roberts told reporters on Monday.
Furthermore, she added: “There's a lot of diversity on college campuses, so we just don't get exposed to that diversity as much… Racism is real. It happens. It's awful. So for our players, No one knew how to handle it, white, black, green or whatever. It was really upsetting.”
Utah defeated South Dakota State on Saturday, but lost to Gonzaga 77-66 in the second round of the tournament on Monday. CNN has reached out to Utah and Gonzaga for further comment.
Yong Kwak/AP
Roberts will give instructions to Utah State's players against Gonzaga.
Roberts said the Utes changed hotels just one night before a game in Spokane after an alleged racist incident.
“It's difficult for our players and staff not to feel safe in an NCAA Tournament environment, so we moved hotels,” she explained.
“N.C.A.A.A. [host university] We appreciate Gonzaga's efforts to accommodate us in a new hotel. That's what happened. It was distracting, upsetting, and disappointing.
“This should be a positive for everyone involved. This should be a fun time for our program. It would be a shame to have some kind of prejudice against this experience.”
Spokane was also the scheduled site for the first two rounds of the men's tournament. Hotel space was limited because the Utah, University of California Irvine (UCI) and South Dakota State women's teams are all in the area.
After some men's teams were eliminated, the NCAA and Gonzaga offered Utah and UCI the opportunity to move into empty hotel rooms in Spokane, a person familiar with the situation told CNN.
The official said that since Utah and UCI were based in Idaho, Gonzaga arranged for a police escort so that the drive time to the venue would not exceed about 30 minutes, and that this was the reason Gonzaga held the event after winning the top spot. He added that this is a possible condition. There are 16 seeds.
Yong Kwak/AP
Players and staff on the Utah bench watching the game against Gonzaga.
Officials said police escort continued to be provided as the two teams moved to Spokane hotels.
Details of the racism allegations have not been released, but Gonzaga University said it was aware of “racist comments” directed at visiting players, adding, “Hate speech in any form is disgusting and shameful. This should never be tolerated,” he added.
“We worked hard to secure the opportunity to serve as a host institution. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of all student-athletes, coaches, families, and support staff. You have to do that.”
The NCAA declined to comment when contacted by CNN.
