If you were looking for an example of both how the media promotes controversy without evidence and how news agencies never turn down an opportunity to slander the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its members, and anything positively associated with it, then look no farther than this article, A BYU fan repeatedly called Duke volleyball player a racial slur during match in Utah, family says.
The accusation in the article is that during a BYU women’s volleyball game, a “BYU fan,” shouted racial slurs at Racheal Richardson, a Black volleyball player on the Duke team. Richardson’s godmother Lesa Pamplin (who is not inconsequentially running for political office in Texas as a Democrat) wrote:
My Goddaughter is the only Black starter for Dukes volleyball team. While playing yesterday, she was called a n— every time she served. She was threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus. A police officer had to be put by their bench.
A BYU fan repeatedly called Duke volleyball player a racial slur during match in Utah, family says
In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Richardson’s father said:
Why wasn’t the fan removed? After the notification was made to officials and the coaching staff was made aware, why wasn’t something done then? That would be my question. I’ve attend university basketball games at Duke, and when something got out of hand, Coach K picked up the mic and said, ‘Hey knock it off.’ Why didn’t that happen here? I don’t know why you would ask a police officer to stand on the floor unless there is a fear that something is going on that shouldn’t be happening. I believe that was the case.”
A BYU fan repeatedly called Duke volleyball player a racial slur during match in Utah, family says
BYU’s response to this was:
When last night’s behavior was initially reported by Duke, there was no individual pointed out. Despite BYU security and event management’s efforts, they were not able to identify a perpetrator of racial slurs. It wasn’t until after the game that an individual was identified by Duke who they believed were uttering the slurs and exhibiting problematic behaviors. That is the individual who has been banned. We understand that the Duke players’ experience is what matters here. They felt unsafe and hurt, and we were unable to address that during the game in a manner that was sufficient.
, A BYU fan repeatedly called Duke volleyball player a racial slur during match in Utah, family says
Notice the important but subtle differences in these statements. The two statements from Richardson’s family makes it sound as if she were called a racial slur and threatened by a specific white male but BYU did nothing about it. A police officer was sent to just generally stand in the area to deter any possible issues. They question why BYU didn’t just eject the fan or why the coach didn’t take some kind of active hand in the issue of removing the person that was doing these things, with the implicit argument being everyone knew who it was.
BYU’s response points out that this sequence of events is wrong. No one knew who was supposedly shouting these insults or making these threats. Not even Richardson herself could point out who did it, which is bizarre in and of itself since this person supposedly didn’t just shout random racial insults but threatened her specifically. You would think that if a person looked you in the face and threatened to attack you that you would be able to point this person out or at least provide a physical description and general location of this person. But no one could, not Richardson, not Duke, not BYU, not the fans in the stands.
Typically, as soon as this story broke there were plenty of self-hating and Mormon hating people on social media attacking BYU students (and the church itself.) They were attacked for not “taking action” against the man shouting racial slurs and accused on being enabling racism and racists by not doing so. The critics immediately attacked BYU for not releasing the name of the guy accused, saying that BYU was “shelter[ing] the bad guys” by doing so. Worse, members of the church have been accused of being so violently racist that those who would oppose such racist speech are too afraid to speak up because they would be attacked themselves. For the disciples of collective guilt and groupthink, the apparent bad behavior of a few condemns all the rest. Because some members supposedly didn’t do something they “should have done” the entire church is proved to be corrupt and evil. There is just one problem with it all (Well, two if you count the fact that this kind of repulsive thinking is the root of what makes racism so terrible and is no better in religious bigotry than it is in racism.)
There is no evidence that what Richardson claimed actually happened.
The guy that BYU banned from their events for being racist?
He was totally completely, and 100% innocent.
BYU Police Lt. George Besendorfer said Tuesday that based on an initial review of surveillance footage of the crowd, the individual who was banned wasn’t shouting anything while the Duke player was serving.
“When we watched the video, we did not observe that behavior from him,” he said.
…“Various BYU Athletics employees have been reviewing video from BYUtv and other cameras in the facility that the volleyball team has access to for film review. This has been ongoing since right after the match on Friday night,” BYU Associate Athletic Director Jon McBride said in a statement. “The person who was banned was the person identified by Duke as using racial slurs. However, we have been unable to find any evidence of that person using slurs in the match.”
…An officer later reviewed footage, according to the report, and wrote: “There was nothing seen on the game film that led me to believe” that the man “was the person who was making comments to the player who complained about being called the N-word.”
During the match’s second set, the officer observed, the UVU student was not present when Richardson was serving, which is when Richardson’s family and Duke officials said the slurs were yelled. And later, when she was serving again, he was playing on his phone, the officer wrote.
The fan who was banned by BYU does not appear to have yelled slurs at volleyball match, campus police say
Further, several BYU students who were at the game and in the area that the racist yelling occurred have come forward and stated that they did not hear anyone yelling racist slurs or threatening people:
The Cougar Chronicle has been unable to find a source in the student section that can corroborate Richardson’s claim of racial slurs being yelled at her. Vera Smith, a BYU student in the student section during the game, said she “heard absolutely nothing” that could be taken as a racial slur. Jacob Hanson, also a BYU student, shared texts with the Cougar Chronicle from two friends in two different parts of the student section that also heard nothing. They said they were not aware there had been a problem until after the game. Maddy Johnson, another BYU student who was in the ROC student section, said she did not hear any racial slur said and when she saw the individual escorted out of the arena he was in a different section. A mother of a BYU student says she personally knows five people who were in the student section during the game “One person was on the court and the others were in the first row” she told the Chronicle. None of them heard a racial slur. Two other people on the court, who wish to remain anonymous, did not hear any racial slurs.
Exclusive: Racist Comments at BYU Volleyball Game Never Happened, Sources Suggest
So, there is the explanation of why BYU students didn’t stop it from happening or “take action” against racism and it has nothing to do with them being racist or being afraid of racists. They’re coming forward and testifying that the claimed events didn’t happen. They were there and they neither saw nor heard anyone shout racist slurs. And it isn’t just BYU students. Despite being right next to Richardson during play, no one on her own team has reported hearing these racial slurs. The members of her teams merely supported her claims. No one else that was there seems to be able to corroborate Richardson’s claim. This points to a very good reason why BYU couldn’t find out who was doing it during the event (or since.)
It wasn’t happening.
Additionally, “a source inside the BYU athletic department,” told The Cougar Chronicle:
When a mentally challenged fan approached a Duke player. The Duke team then suddenly recognized the handicapped man’s ‘voice’ as the same one shouting slurs. They never saw or pointed out a face, just a voice. They banned this man. Not for slurs, but for interfering with visiting guests. BYU Athletics staff went through footage of the entire game and the man Duke identified was never seated in the student section. Her story doesn’t add up, BYU banned an innocent man to appease the mob and make their PR mess go away. While I don’t know if Ms. Richardson genuinely misheard something or intentionally made up this story, it certainly does not constitute the criticism BYU has gotten. There is zero evidence of a slur being said. Not a single witness, besides Ms. Richardson, has come forth. Not a single cell phone video or BYUtv’s several camera angles caught a single thing. How unlikely when this person supposedly said a slur during ‘every single serve.’
Exclusive: Racist Comments at BYU Volleyball Game Never Happened, Sources Suggest
Now, I don’t believe Richardson is a liar. I believe she thought she heard someone shout a racist slur at her. Most likely she heard a combination of many different words and sounds which, when unconsciously added together in an effort to understand them, sounded like a racist slur to her. Believing that she was the target of a racist slur aroused powerful emotional feelings within her that left her feeling vulnerable, defensive, and unsafe. Perhaps this experience was even based on the subconscious assumption that what she was hearing was racist because she has been exposed to anti-Mormon propaganda that seeks to label the church and its members as racist. But just because she thought she heard something and just because what she thought caused powerful negative emotions doesn’t actually mean she actually heard what she thought she heard. All of the evidence suggests she was wrong. She isn’t a liar, but she is incorrect.
And the information in the above statement adds an extra dimension to everything. Not only is this guy innocent but he is a mentally challenged person accused and found guilty of a social crime based solely on the sound of his voice. Out of thousands shouting at the game, this singular voice was distinctive and could be pinpointed with absolute accuracy? To say that seems highly unlikely is to underestimate the likelihood. On top of that, there is professional footage of the entire game and at no time can you hear anyone yelling racist slurs of any sort. You can watch Richardson’s serves, when she says she heard the racist slurs here 51:13 and here at 2:00:20.
Did you hear any racist slurs being shouted? Neither did I. There is nothing that even sounds sort of like it maybe could have been a racist slur in the entire video. Which is bizarre because it seems like if a person was yelling loud enough to be distinctively heard above a crowd of thousands of people you would think he would also stand out on a professional video and studio recording of said crowd. Just look at the picture below. Richardson heard eon distinct voice repeatedly shouting racial slurs over the roar of that many people, but no else did including all the people between the shouter and Richardson? Not even her team mates who were standing right beside her as seen in the previous photo of her serving?
To say that one person alone heard another person shout a racial slur over the voices of hundreds in a section (thousands in a stadium) between them but no one else did, including those in between and beside the shouter and the target is immensely unlikely is understatement. The entire situation is completely implausible. And those defending her know it. They know that others would have heard the racist. Which is why the only defense they have is to say that no one reacted or said anything because everyone there was racist and therefore okay with it. Which is, of course, a claim completely without evidence, absolutely baseless, and, frankly, incomprehensibly stupid. It is nothing more than anti-Mormon religious bigotry (“All the Mormons are white racists!”) and a massive ad hominem fallacy used to justify an irrational and untenable argument that has no proof whatsoever but which they cannot give up for purely ideological reasons.
One thing is clear though. Whether there was an issue of racism here or not, this is obviously a distinctive example of ableism. The treatment of this man – punishing him as if he were guilty before even attempting to find out if he were so or not all based on the sound of his voice – is discrimination and social prejudice against a mentally handicapped man with Asperger’s or autism who may not even be able to defend himself because of the limitations caused by his disabilities. If he had said or done something wrong he may not even realize that because of the way that autism and Asperger’s prevents people with those disorders from being able to fully recognize or understand social cues and faux pas. None of this matters to BYU and Duke though. They punished an innocent disabled man in order to appease the “social justice” mobs. Virtue signaling about not being racist was and is more important to them than actually finding out if acts of racism occurred or not and who actually did them if so. This innocent man joins the ranks of people like Emmanuel Cafferty, Majid Wadi, David Shor, and many others as one who has been accused, convicted, and punished by the “social justice” mobs even though he was innocent of the actions which he was accused of committing.
As a trend this is disturbing for its larger legal implications. I know the proponents of such mob justice endlessly proclaim that what they are doing doesn’t alter the law or how courts function, but this is simply false. Innocent until proven guilty is not a self-existent adamantine truth unaffected by the influences and impulses of society. The assumption of innocence until guilt is proven is a social more, a construct that has developed rather recently in human history and which is wholly dependent on society continuing to believe in it for it to continue to exist. The more society turns away from it, the more society becomes comfortable with judging others as guilty and punishing them on the basis of mere accusation alone, the more we chip away at the very concept of innocence until proven guilty until there is nothing of it left.
The mere existence of courts won’t preserve or protect the ideal of being innocent until proven guilty. Courts throughout most of human history have assumed a person at trial was guilty until proven otherwise, leading to the prosecution and destruction of the innocent in untold numbers. The Salem Witch Trials are a famous example of what happens when you have a full legal hearing absent the assumption of innocence. If we don’t value innocent until proven guilty as a concept outside of courtrooms then it won’t be enforced inside of them. And innocent people will suffer as a result.
And what of the media outlets who gave this story legs, capitalizing off of and promoting prejudice against Latter-day Saints?
All of these details [as laid out above] appeared in law enforcement incident reports, the student newspaper, and the Salt Lake Tribune. Unfortunately, this prudent journalism wasn’t good enough for ESPN, ABC’s Good Morning America, or CNN. Let’s be clear — these aren’t just some one-person partisan blogs. These are supposedly serious news outlets that have many producers to vet stories before running them.
Why are there never any professional consequences for this shoddy journalism?
Is this a recipe for the new “hard news” standard that new CNN boss Chris Licht is reported to be employing at CNN? What happened to standards at the Atlantic, which just recently held a conference on disinformation? Or does that standard only apply to external journalists, not the publication’s own writers?
With racist invention, media fails another fake news test
Anti-Mormonism makes headlines. It is easy to take shots at us, spread every accusation and lie possible, and get the benefits and clicks from doing so. The actual journalism can be terrible, but as long as it conforms to the prejudices against us, it’ll continue to to be successful. Even if it is filled with half-truths, errors, and lies. The really embarrassing thing though is the amount of members who fall for this kind of crass manipulation. You would think that after literal centuries of the media lying about us and profiting off of spreading anti-Mormon bigotry that most of us would have woken up to the reality of the situation. Nevertheless, the first response to a story like this from many members isn’t to question it, but to engage in some sort of grotesque self-flagellation, to debase ourselves in a modern auto de fé and confess our guilt, attack our brothers and sisters as apostates from the Social Gospel, and beg forgiveness from the self-righteous mobs who have no problem attacking us. I mean just compare this situation where a single person supposedly chanted a racial slur with literal stadiums full of people chanting, “FUCK THE MORMONS!” to no backlash or discussion about how Oregon and southern California are hotbeds of religious bigotry.
Hatred of the Saints is just as prolific, just as dangerous, and just as deadly, as it ever has been.
And the response from members of the church about the Richardson situation isn’t just embarrassing. It is disturbing. So many of us so want to be considered acceptable by the world and legitimate by its media king-makers that we automatically assume the worst about our brothers and sisters and the best about so many of the accusers and critics of the church. They are more members ready to savage our fellow members than they are to lift them up, protect them from the slings and arrows of the world, shield them from the fiery darts of Satan, and seek out the truth first and foremost. Instead of taking accusations seriously but assuming innocence until proven guilty, too many of us are all too happy to stand alongside those mockers in the great and spacious building and “point the finger of scorn” (1 Nephi 8:33-34) at our brothers and sister.
Too many of us are all to willing to throw our brothers and sisters to the wolves in order to be members of the same pack, their actual guilt be damned. They are all too willing to slay their brother, to destroy his life, in order to get the gain of the approval of the world. The result is just what you see in this article. In the name of “protecting the marginalized” the innocent are attacked, made to suffer grievous mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual harm, and this social rabidity is called “justice.”
Call it whatever propaganda term you like, but it isn’t justice, “social” or otherwise.
It certainly isn’t Christianity.