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Brigham Young University (BYU) announced on Friday that it had concluded its investigation into allegations that at least one individual hurled racial slurs at a black player during a volleyball match against Duke University. The investigation’s findings were a dinger, finding that there was no evidence that anyone in the audience or on the field uttered a racially offensive word.

From BYU’s announcement:

We reviewed all available video and audio recordings, including security footage and raw footage from all camera angles taken by BYUtv of the match, with broadcasting audio removed (to ensure that the noise from the stands could be heard more clearly). We also reached out to more than 50 individuals who attended the event: Duke athletic department personnel and student-athletes, BYU athletic department personnel and student-athletes, event security and management and fans who were in the arena that evening, including many of the fans in the on-court student section.

The university explained that it had “not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event” and that it has “lifted the ban on the fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match.”

“We have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity,” the statement reads.

The announcement affirmed that the university remains “committed to rooting out racism wherever it is found.”

The controversy arose when Rachel Richardson, the only black player on Duke’s volleyball team, claimed that fans screamed racial epithets at her during the match on August 27. RedState’s Brad Slager wrote:

Richardson claimed that any time she had to serve while near the BYU student section, she was called hateful names, and even pointed out the individual responsible. Following the contest, this person was taken aside and the University has banned the non-student from attending any further events on campus. This episode flared across the internet and on the media spectrum.

Nina King, vice president and director of athletics at Duke University, released a statement still claiming that Richardson was on the receiving end of racial slurs.

“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,” she wrote. “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.”

Naturally, the news got reactions from several people on social media. Conservative commentator Jesse Kelly chimed in:

The default position on all of these race hoaxes is to assume they’re lying:

1. They always are.
2. If you actually uttered a racist phrase against a black person in America today, your entire life would be ruined. Nobody would risk it.

Media activist Carron J. Phillips was not happy with BYU’s findings, however. He tweeted:

Racists gon’ racist.

White people gon’ white people.

Utah gon’ Utah.

BYU gon’ BYU.

Of course, any sane person without an agenda can see that Kelly’s assessment is the higher-IQ take. The idea that anyone would shout racial epithets at a public sporting event is ludicrous on its face. Nobody would be insane enough to do such a thing. It’s common sense.

But to rabid race-baiting leftists, their obsession with racism blinds them to this reality. If you were to bring this point up to them, they would shrug it off, erroneously claiming that Utah is so racist, you can shout a racial slur at a black person in public and nobody would care.

Of course, deep down, they know this isn’t true. But they need to believe it, which is why they are typically so gullible when these hoaxes occur.

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