Peace women’s basketball team forfeits title game after allegations of racism
Administrators at William Peace University said Saturday night in a statement they support its women’s basketball team’s decision to forfeit the team’s tournament championship game against North Carolina Wesleyan after a Peace athlete brought forth allegations of racism and taunting.
Lauryn Cross, a junior guard from Urbana, Illinois, tweeted Saturday morning that she had been suspended by the Peace athletic department for a second time for “defending myself from racial slurs, phallic gestures and being constantly antagonized. WITH NOTHING BEING DONE TO THE OTHER ATHLETE.”
Cross closed the tweet demanding “WPU athletics & USA South Conference accept & acknowledge it.”
William Peace University President Brian Ralph, in a written statement to The News & Observer, said the team decided to forfeit Saturday’s game “in solidarity and in support of their teammate” and that the decision was backed by the university. He said Peace would take steps to “ensure our student athletes are no longer forced to navigate such inappropriate situations.”
Ralph, in his statement Saturday, said Peace had reported the incidents to the school of the competitor — neither the school nor athlete was identified — and to the conference. He said he and the school have asked the USA South Atlantic Conference to set up a task force to “strongly address” issues of racism during competition.
Ralph’s statement did not, however, address Cross by name, nor did it address her apparent suspension beyond acknowledging that (a member of the team) reacted in a way that neither the USA South conference nor William Peace University supported.
Saturday morning, Peace head women’s coach Marquetta Dickens posted a statement from the women’s team on her own Twitter account concerning the decision to forfeit the game. That statement said that racial slurs and derogatory names had been used against the athlete in competition and referred to the actions taken by the school against the athlete.
“The situation is much bigger than basketball,” the statement read. “The systemic racism that our team has first hand experienced in the past several weeks is an issue that needs to be addressed not only within William Peace University but in the USA South conference as a whole.”
The statement from the team congratulated North Carolina Wesleyan on a “well-deserved championship.”
“This is not ideal, but I stand in solidarity with their decision and proud they feel empowered to use their voice,” Dickens tweeted.
Peace defeated Meredith 82-68 Wednesday in the USA South Conference tournament and was to have faced N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday in the USA South East Division championship game.
Cross played eight games this season for Peace and had a team-leading 17.4 points-per-game average. She was assessed a technical foul in the Jan. 30 game at Mary Baldwin in Staunton, Virginia, as was Demet Saygili of Mary Baldwin. Cross did not play in the next four Peace games, but was in the lineup for the Feb. 19 game against Pfeiffer in Raleigh.
Cross was assessed another technical foul in the Feb. 28 road game against Methodist in Fayetteville. She then played in the March 3 tournament game against Meredith in Raleigh — the game before Saturday’s scheduled game with Wesleyan.
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 9:48 PM.
