Ban lifted off BYU fan accused of taunting opposing player with racial slur; investigation yields no evidence

PROVO, Utah — The ban against a Brigham Young University fan has been lifted after an investigation failed to find evidence that he used racial slurs to taunt an opposing player.

The athletics department initially banned the man, who is not a BYU student, from all athletic venues for allegedly shouting racial slurs during a volleyball match against Duke last month.

In an statement Friday, school officials said their investigation into the allegation had been completed and did not find any evidence to corroborate the allegation.

As part of the investigation, officials reviewed security footage from "all camera angles taken by BYUtv of the match," and officials reached out to more than 50 people who attended the match, including individuals from the Duke athletic department, BYU athletic department, security and fans.

"As a result of our investigation, we have lifted the ban on the fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match," the statement reads. "We have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity. BYU sincerely apologizes to that fan for any hardship the ban has caused."

The conclusion of the investigation comes as people around the nation criticized BYU for its initial response when the incident occurred.

"There will be some who assume we are being selective in our review," BYU officials said in a statement. "To the contrary, we have tried to be as thorough as possible in our investigation, and we renew our invitation for anyone with evidence contrary to our findings to come forward and share it."

The Duke volleyball player who was the target of the slurs later spoke out praising school officials for their response to the incident.

A Duke official released a statement Friday after the BYU decision to rescind its ban.

"The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity. We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question. Duke Athletics believes in respect, equality and inclusiveness, and we do not tolerate hate and bias," said Duke Director of Athletics Nina King.

Governor Spencer Cox offered his thoughts on the situation. When the incident initially happened, he said he was "disgusted" with the behavior and deeply saddened.

"I will always speak out strongly against racism," the Governor's updated statement reads in part. "I also believe it is important to step back and acknowledge new facts as they come to light and speak publicly about them as well. Part of that requires patience, something I could have done better in this situation. I apologize to the fan who apparently was unfairly signaled out."

The conclusion of the investigation comes just a week after the University of South Carolina canceled women's basketball games with BYU over the incident.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, who made the call to cancel the games, said she will not rescind her decision despite the update in the investigation.

“I continue to stand by my position," she said in a written statement. "After my personal research, I made a decision for the well-being of my team. I regret that my university, my athletics director Ray Tanner and others got drawn into the criticism of a choice that I made.”