Coach of Gonzaga: Racism against Utah is a “sad situation”

Portland, Oregon. In response, Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said on Thursday that the next time the school hosts NCAA tournament games, it will try to keep accommodations closer to Spokane. The Utah women’s basketball team encountered racial hatred last week while staying in Idaho before playing at Gonzaga.

Utah, South Dakota State, and UC Irvine were among the teams Gonzaga hosted in the first and second rounds as a top-16 seed.

Fortier added that she was unaware of the Utes’ situation until Utah coach Lynne Roberts brought it up during her team’s press conference following the team’s second-round loss to the Bulldogs.

“I hope it’s something that doesn’t occur again. I hope that never does,” Fortier remarked. “The student-athletes here should be having fun and getting ready for these fantastic contests. It’s an awful predicament.”

Due to a shortage of hotels in the vicinity, South Dakota State, UC Irvine, and Utah were all lodging at motels in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which is roughly 30 minutes from Spokane, the home of Gonzaga University.

Far-right extremists have made a presence in the region of Spokane and northern Idaho. In 2018, at least nine hate groups operated in the region, including Identity Evropa, Proud Boys, ACT for America and America’s Promise Ministries, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

According to KSL.com, last Thursday an individual yelled the N-word at the Utah team and traveling party as they were walking to and from a restaurant near their hotel, and the person, who flew a Confederate flag, revved their truck’s engine before speeding off. A similar incident occurred two hours later, KSL.com reported, with two trucks.

Roberts said the NCAA and Gonzaga worked with Utah and UC Irvine, the latter which requested to move as a precaution, to help the teams change hotels in the aftermath of the events.

“We should not have been there,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan told KSL.com. “I do appreciate the NCAA and Gonzaga moving us from that situation, but we should never have been there in the first place. So, a lot of folks need to get home and heal from the whole matter.”

“Racism is real and it happens, and it’s awful,” Roberts said in the news conference. “For our players, whether they are white, black, green, whatever — no one knew how to handle it and it was really upsetting. For our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it’s messed up.”

Fortier said it was a “unique year” of circumstances that led to visiting teams needing to stay in Coeur d’Alene: Spokane was a host site for first- and second-round men’s NCAA tournament games this past week as well as a large youth volleyball tournament.

Additionally, in 2025, Spokane will play home to one of the two women’s NCAA tournament regionals, which will mean eight teams.

“We’ll attempt to keep it tighter towards Spokane a little bit the next time we host,” Fortier stated. “The hotel at Coeur D’Alene Resort was pleasant. That is the reason the NCAA placed them there. None of the decisions made regarding it are known to me.”

The event sparked debate over whether it would be preferable to shift all games to neutral locations or whether campus locations should only need to meet certain requirements in order to hold games. Lynn Holzman, the vice president of women’s basketball at the NCAA, told The Associated Press that she hopes the selection committee would reassess the championship structure this year rather than waiting until 2025 as it stands now. In terms of placement, I believe the committee merely makes the decision. We’ll take that as a lesson,” Fortier added. “Hopefully, they’ll be right downtown in the Davenport and have a terrific experience the next time we host.”

In the second Portland 4 regional semifinal on Friday at 10 p.m. ET, the 4-seed Zags take on the 1-seed Texas.