The incident that took place in Saturday night’s Norfolk State University-Illinois State University game continued to reverberate on Sunday.
After attempting to confront NSU head coach Robert Jones for his reaction during the game, Illinois State University head coach Ryan Pedone said he apologized to Jones in a statement.
“I reached out this morning to Coach Robert Jones to offer my apology for my reaction during our game last night. I take full responsibility for my actions. I was wrong for allowing the situation to escalate. I expressed to Coach Jones after the game- I absolutely did not hear what he was saying to me. Had I heard Coach Jones, my response would have been completely different.
This was a misunderstanding in which I reacted to him without understanding the situation, and I own that mistake 100 percent. I would also like to apologize for any negative reflection my response may have brought to either institution, its student athletes or basketball programs.”
Norfolk State University president Javaune Adams-Gaston, Ph.D., and NSU Director of Athletics Melody Webb released a joint statement on Saturday.
“We are profoundly disappointed at the events that transpired during the men’s basketball game yesterday at Illinois State University where racial epithets were shouted at our student-athletes. We are at a critical time in this nation and world as it relates to race relations, and any type of hate speech or language is unacceptable.
This type of behavior and language has no place in society or in athletic competition. College athletics is rooted in sportsmanship, camaraderie and exhibiting school pride. We appreciate Coach Jones for standing up for our student-athletes, and we commend our student-athletes for exhibiting restraint during a stressful ordeal. Our student-athletes followed in the footsteps of the late Bill Russell and basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during their collegiate careers, and successfully played through racial slurs meant to traumatize and disrupt the team. Our students remained Spartan Strong, but that is not something they should have to overcome during an athletic event in 2023. We are so proud of our team maintaining a competitive game and spectacular performance for a win against Illinois State University.
We have heard from the president and athletic director of Illinois State University. They have stated the behavior shown to our student-athletes at the Horton Field House is not representative of their institution and they will fully investigate this incident. We acknowledge their apology and look forward to hearing the results of their investigation.”