No criminal charges will be filed against an 18-year-old man who authorities say yelled racial slurs at members of the Utah women's basketball team ahead of their NCAA Tournament appearance in March.
In a six-page charging decision dated May 3 released Monday, Coeur d'Alene Chief Deputy City Attorney Ryan Hunter said the suspect, an Idaho high school student, made racial slurs and obscene sexual comments. He said he confessed to yelling. The group included Utah players, staff and other students.
The document, obtained by the Deseret News, states that Coeur d'Alene city attorneys say there is “insufficient evidence to establish probable cause” and that the man's First Amendment right to free speech was violated. They explained that they decided not to prosecute the man because of the possibility that he could be exposed to criminal charges. .
University of Utah officials declined further comment on the matter.
What did the police investigation into the incident reveal?
As previously reported by the Deseret News, the Utah women's basketball team was in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, ahead of its scheduled first-round game against South Dakota State in the women's NCAA tournament. The Utes played their two NCAA tournament games on the Gonzaga University campus in Spokane, Washington, about a 35-minute drive from the town in Idaho.
The two incidents occurred on March 21, shortly after the team arrived in town, the university said.
That night, according to a police report filed by university booster Robert Moyer, two lifted pickup trucks drove into Crafted Tap House and Kitchen for dinner, according to charging documents. As he was walking toward the university, he allegedly yelled racial slurs at a group of people at the university, revved his engine, and drove off. He then harassed the group again as they left the restaurant and returned to the Coeur d'Alene resort where the team was staying.
A three-week investigation by Coeur d'Alene police revealed a timeline of events that night, with video evidence showing a person in a sedan yelling racial slurs, Hunter wrote.
Through the investigation, police were able to identify the four occupants of the vehicle, and the 18-year-old confessed to both the racial slur and the lewd comments, according to the charging documents.
The Coeur d'Alene City Attorney's Office has investigated three possible criminal charges against the man, including disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and malicious harassment, the documents said.
Hunter said there was “insufficient evidence” to establish that the man's actions constituted malicious harassment or “specific intent to intimidate or harass a specific person.” He also concluded that the 18-year-old's actions on the other two charges did not rise to the level of being indictable under state or city criminal law.
“It was clear from the beginning of this case that what aroused the justified outrage in this case was not when, where, or how (the defendant) made the grotesque racial comments. It was a grotesque racial remark,” Hunter wrote.
“Accordingly, any attempt to prosecute (him) for either disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct would necessarily rely on the content of his statements to establish either offense; This would be a clear violation of the First Amendment and (his) right to free speech as contemplated by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the…Idaho Constitution. ”
Hunter also said the City Attorney's Office “shares the outrage caused by (the defendant's) abhorrent racist and misogynistic comments.”
“We join in unequivocally condemning that statement and the use of racial slurs in this case, or in any situation,” Hunter wrote. “However, under current law, that cannot be the basis for criminal prosecution in this case.”
As for the pickup trucks, Coeur d'Alene Police collected surveillance video from the area as part of the investigation, and video surveillance showed three trucks near the restaurant making “significant noise while accelerating,” according to the documents. It is said that There is no evidence that anyone in those trucks shouted racial slurs at the team's traveling party.
“At this time, there are initial reports that several vehicles were deliberately revving their engines and speeding past the University-to-University delegation in an attempt to intimidate and harass the University-to-University delegation on their way to and from the dinner. There is no audio or video evidence to support the reports of “manipulations'','' Hunter wrote.
“However, although not recorded in the audio recording, five credible eyewitness accounts confirm that someone yelled the N-word at certain members of the U of U contingent on the way to Crafted. Still, these accounts vary widely in their descriptions of the vehicle and person involved in shouting racial slurs, with the only consensus on the identity of the perpetrator being that he was a white man. was.”
Coeur d'Alene Mayor Jim Hammond told the Spokesman-Review that he was “disappointed” to learn that no charges would be filed.
“I'm disappointed that there isn't some accountability,” Hammond said. “I'm not going to second-guess the prosecutor who made that decision, but it's unfortunate that there isn't some form of community service that can be done to hold the child accountable.”
Does this mean moving forward?
Utah coach Lynn Roberts detailed for the first time what happened after the Utes lost to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, telling reporters the team had changed hotels and worked with Gonzaga and the NCAA to make that happen. He told the group.
“(It was) incredibly upsetting for all of us,” Roberts said. “It was distracting, upsetting, and disappointing. This should be a positive for everyone involved. It should be a fun time for our program, but it's a dark look at the experience.” It's a shame that it's happening.”
The women's and men's NCAA tournaments were held in Spokane on the same weekend, and a regional volleyball tournament was also held in Spokane, according to the Associated Press.
All three visiting teams in the women's tournament stayed in hotels in Idaho, while Utah State and the University of California, Irvine stayed in Coeur d'Alene, according to the Associated Press.
The university expressed disappointment in remaining in Coeur d'Alene.
“As we continue to recover, we deeply regret the decision to place our team in a hotel in another state far from the competition venue. We will continue to work with NCAA leaders to “We want to make it clear that being so far removed from the scene is unacceptable and contributed to the impact of this incident,” the school's statement said.
In the women's NCAA Tournament, the first two rounds will be played at the host site, with selections not made until Sunday, the weekend before games begin.
NCAA vice president of women's basketball Lynn Holtzman told The Associated Press that the selection committee plans to review the tournament format after the 2025 season. She is asking for the review to be brought forward to this year, according to the Associated Press.
“That review will also include an evaluation of the regional format for the first four rounds, Rounds 1 and 2, and the two venues,” Holtzman told The Associated Press. “We would like to consider a qualifying round for the Championship, but given the growth over recent years, we think that review should be brought forward to start in 2024.”