SPOKANE, Wash. – It’s been a tough week for the Inland Northwest and NCAA basketball teams. Two teams, the Utah women’s and the Gonzaga men’s, have faced allegations of racism.
On March 21, black members of the University of Utah team were victims of racist harassment in Coeur d’Alene, bringing attention to the culture of North Idaho.
Members of the Gonzaga men’s basketball team on Thursday were apparently confused with undocumented immigrants by Michigan Rep. Matt Maddock (R)drawing condemnation from fellow Michigan lawmakers.
Over a span of just seven days, two teams with multiple Black members were subject to reported racist incidents in the middle of the NCAA Tournament, with both teams sharing an Inland Northwest connection.
In a media landscape where sport appears as resilient symbols of a largely decaying American monoculture, it seems that college basketball’s potential to serve as a social lightning rod extends not just to athletics, but also to issues of racial justice.
