Athletic Director Derrick Gragg condemns visiting fan’s anti-Asian gestures at men’s basketball game
Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman
The Welsh-Ryan Arena court. A Wisconsin fan filmed making racist gestures at Northwestern’s student section Tuesday has been banned from both schools’ athletic events.
January 21, 2022
Content warning: This article contains mentions of racist gestures.
Athletic Director Derrick Gragg condemned a visiting fan’s anti-Asian gestures toward Northwestern students during Tuesday’s men’s basketball game against Wisconsin.
The letter, which denounced the “abhorrent and racist actions” of the individual, stressed the ongoing effort to combat hatred against the Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American community. The individual in question made a series of offensive and anti-Asian gestures toward members of the Northwestern student section during the first home men’s basketball Big Ten game in two years with students in attendance.
Gragg went on to thank the fans who reported the behavior, as well as the staff responsible for ejecting the offender from Welsh-Ryan Arena. He declared that both schools’ athletic departments identified the individual, who received an indefinite ban from attending Northwestern or Wisconsin sporting events.
Wisconsin Chancellor and incoming University President Rebecca Blank co-authored a similar statement Thursday with Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh, declaring the ticket-holder was not a Wisconsin student or employee.
Gragg’s bulletin concluded with a reminder that addressing racism in our community goes beyond a single incident, and called upon all Wildcats to “speak up, come together and stand against all forms of social injustice.”
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