Vanderbilt players’ parents faced racial slurs during CWS game vs. MSU, AD says
(Editor’s note: Two Mississippi State University fans pictured in a breaking news email sent by the Sun Herald on Tuesday are not associated with allegations of racial slurs received by the parents of Vanderbilt players at the College World Series in the related story. The Sun Herald regrets any confusion.)
Parents of the Vanderbilt baseball players were the victims of racial slurs during Monday night’s game against Mississippi State in Game 1 of the College World Series finals, Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee said in a tweet Tuesday morning.
Storey Lee did not allege that the insults came from MSU fans.
“I am deeply troubled that some of our student-athlete parents were subjected to racist slurs during last night’s game,” she said in her post. “This is absolutely unacceptable and disgraceful behavior, and such hateful language has no place anywhere in our society.
“To the family members who were impacted, please know that you have my full support.”
Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen later joined Storey Lee Tuesday in condemning the use of racist language.
“We join Vanderbilt in declaring such behavior unacceptable and in direct conflict with the values of both institutions and our fan bases,” Cohen said in a post on Twitter. “The College World Series serves as a celebration of the entire sport of college baseball. Highly inappropriate events must neither be tolerated nor allowed to detract from the on-the-field accomplishments of the student-athletes and their teams who have earned the right to participate on this national stage.”
Vanderbilt won the game 8-2 and Game 2 of the three-game series is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
MSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Bulldogs’ fans quickly became frustrated in the bottom of the frame when the Commodores answered with seven runs to take a 7-1 lead.
This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 9:53 AM.
