Duke volleyball player's racial slur allegation receives push back from witnesses: report

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Witnesses have reportedly come forward saying no racial slurs were heard during the BYU-Duke women’s volleyball match last Friday, in which Duke’s Rachel Richardson, the only Black starter for the Blue Devils, said she was heckled throughout "the entirety of the match."

Richardson said in a statement that BYU officials were not quick enough to address the situation upon the initial grievance from the Duke bench. BYU noted that the fan, who the Salt Lake Tribune said was a Utah Valley University student sitting in the student section, was banned from all athletic venues on campus. 

The BYU Cougar Chronicle — a conservative-leaning student newspaper at the university — said "a source inside the BYU athletic department" said: "Ms. Richardson complained of hearing a racial slur during the second set but didn’t not point anyone out. Officials discussed briefly and stationed policemen there…there were no more complaints until after the match."

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NCAA Logos are featured during the Division I Women's Volleyball Semifinals held at PPG Paints Arena on December 19, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The Chronicle spoke to several students seated in the student section during the game that claimed they "heard absolutely nothing," and that the banned fan did not yell a racial slur before being escorted out of the game. 

A BYU spokesperson told Fox News Digital what they can confirm about the incident at Smith Fieldhouse last Friday:

- Right before the start of the third game, Duke first brought up that a racial slur had been heard.

- No individual was