Multiple Republican lawmakers expressed their outrage this week after Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-posts-shocking-thread-revealing-dei-at-work-in-medicine-even-if-doctors-injure-patients-they-might-still-be-protected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted a shocking thread</a> showing how doctors and medical associations have embraced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), signaling the possibility of action on the issue on Capitol Hill.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dei-puts-the-lives-of-your-loved-ones-at-risk-elon-musk-other-prominent-voices-respond-to-ben-shapiro-investigation-into-dei-in-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shapiro&#8217;s thread</a>, posted to X on Monday, dove into how some medical schools and doctors have pushed DEI in an effort to recruit more minority surgeons and stop hiring so many “walls of white men,” especially after the death of George Floyd and the ensuing riots in the summer of 2020. The Daily Wire editor emeritus said that his findings even show how some “top hospitals are abandoning key metrics when hiring surgeons.”
Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), a senior member of the House Subcommittee on Health, said in a statement to The Daily Wire that he plans to &#8220;lead the charge&#8221; against the issue in Congress.
&#8220;Americans deserve to know their medical professionals are the most qualified candidate available, that grants awards are based on the most promising outcomes, and that all patients are treated equally without regard to their race or political views,&#8221; the Florida congressman said. &#8220;As a senior member of the Health Subcommittee, I will be leading the charge to uphold this basic standard of care and hold those who violate it accountable.&#8221;
“There is no place for identity politics, discrimination and DEI in medicine – it risks lives,&#8221; Bilirakis said.
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1/ DEI in medicine means that even if doctors injure patients, they might still be protected (even promoted). It means that top hospitals are abandoning key metrics when hiring surgeons. And it means research by whites may be disregarded. Here’s what I&#39;ve found… 🧵
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1762195994123407577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) <a href="https://twitter.com/danbishopnc/status/1762515833484345562" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that &#8220;the law is very clear&#8221; about hiring practices that exclude anyone based on race or sex. In a video uncovered by Shapiro, Duke School of Medicine surgical resident Vignesh Raman celebrated treating a majority &#8220;non-white&#8221; population and suggested he and his team were trying to bring on more women and “non-white” surgeons. Raman also discussed how his &#8220;heart sinks&#8221; when he sees any of his patients wearing MAGA hats.
Bishop, who is running for North Carolina attorney general, said that racial discrimination in hiring practices in the name of DEI &#8220;will not be tolerated.&#8221;
&#8220;Fantastic journalism from @benshapiro @realDailyWire,&#8221; Bishop <a href="https://twitter.com/danbishopnc/status/1762545813924745530" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;DEI in medicine puts innocent lives at risk. When I’m AG, this blatant racial discrimination will not be tolerated.&#8221;
The North Carolina congressman, who is a former civil litigator, joined &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/congressional-funding-fights-dei-surgeon-recruitment-2-28-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a>&#8221; on Wednesday where he said he expects to see lawsuits filed against medical institutions that use DEI in their hiring practices.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) also reposted Shapiro&#8217;s thread on X, warning against DEI in health care.
&#8220;Health care is meant to save lives and find the best of the best — not promote the latest in leftist ideologies that put patients in harm’s way all to meet an arbitrary ‘quota,’&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1762831487341056405" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
Duke has not commented on Shapiro&#8217;s investigation that uncovered Raman&#8217;s DEI discussion, but following Shapiro&#8217;s thread, the original videos featuring Raman that were posted on YouTube have been taken down.
Multiple political commentators and influential figures, including billionaire Elon Musk, also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dei-puts-the-lives-of-your-loved-ones-at-risk-elon-musk-other-prominent-voices-respond-to-ben-shapiro-investigation-into-dei-in-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed their concern</a> after Shapiro released the findings of his investigation. Shapiro&#8217;s thread has now been viewed over 32 million times and reposted over 7,000 times.
“DEI puts the lives of your loved ones at risk,” <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1762223442588483633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1762223442588483633%7Ctwgr%5Ef8d932982a8f61f8cbda66981093fee56b719f3b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fdei-puts-the-lives-of-your-loved-ones-at-risk-elon-musk-other-prominent-voices-respond-to-ben-shapiro-investigation-into-dei-in-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Musk.
&#8220;Black surgeon here. This is insane,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/RealBenCarson/status/1762605172306354424?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> former Trump administration official Dr. Ben Carson. &#8220;If we are going to save lives, we must keep identity politics out of the medical field.&#8221;
Former sports anchor Sage Steele — who sued ESPN alleging the network retaliated against her for making negative comments about the COVID vaccine — added, “The last sentence in the final tweet of this must-read thread should scare all of us: ‘Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US’ … yet these universities &amp; hospitals are more concerned about DEI than hiring the most qualified person for the job??!!”

Ben Shapiro/Gus Bilirakis/Dan Bishop

Ben Shapiro’s Investigation On DEI’s Influence On Medicine Sparks Outrage On Hill: ‘It Risks Lives’

Lawmakers Outraged After Ben Shapiro Reveals Findings Into DEI's Influence On Medicine: 'It Risks Lives' 

Ben Shapiro

Congress

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Doctors

Duke University

Health Care

Republicans

U.S. House of Representatives

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says">Yulia Hicks</a>, a child who was reportedly denied a kidney transplant by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says">Duke Children’s Hospital</a> last year, underwent a successful, life-saving kidney transplant at ECUHealth Medical Center on Thursday.
The North Carolina-based hospital stepped up to help Yulia, who has a genetic kidney disorder that requires a transplant, after her family said last year that Duke was refusing to put the teen on its kidney wait-list because she is unvaccinated against COVID. Notably, the family says Yulia had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-study-natural-immunity-beats-vax-against-delta-variant">already recovered from the virus</a>, but such information was unimportant to Duke Children’s Hospital.
Yulia was sent back for surgery at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening, and is currently recovering in the pediatric ICU, Yulia’s mother Chrissy Hicks told The Daily Wire in a phone interview on Friday. The teen&#8217;s surgery went extremely well and relatively quickly. Yulia is expected to leave the hospital on Monday or Tuesday.
&#8220;We found out Friday that we were gonna have surgery this week, and that was just, like, overwhelming because the blessings are just &#8212; it&#8217;s so overwhelming that everything worked out,&#8221; Chrissy told The Daily Wire. &#8220;You know, we had hoped that this would all happen, but then for it to actually happen &#8212; you&#8217;re like, oh my gosh, it really worked, you know?&#8221;
<div id="attachment_558773" style="width: 442px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-558773" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-558773 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/05/Resized_20230526_091607-432x576.jpeg" alt="Yulia Hicks" width="432" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/05/Resized_20230526_091607-432x576.jpeg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/05/Resized_20230526_091607-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/05/Resized_20230526_091607.jpeg 756w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" />Courtesy of Chrissy Hicks</div>
Yulia&#8217;s donor is a man from Kentucky, who has decided to remain anonymous. The family was told his initials are J.J.
&#8220;If it wasn&#8217;t for the media giving us attention, we would&#8217;ve never found her donor, because he came forward because he saw it in [online],&#8221; Chrissy said. &#8220;He wanted to just test and see if he was a match. We still don&#8217;t know his name, we just know he is from Kentucky and we know his initials are J.J., so he&#8217;s gonna forever be J.J. to us.&#8221;
Chrissy said around 40 people came forward looking to test if they were a match in the wake of conservative media bringing attention to Yulia&#8217;s case.
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The Hicks family asked for prayers for J.J. in an update posted to a <a href="https://www.givesendgo.com/kidneyforyulia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GiveSendGo</a> account for the family. &#8220;Please pray for his recovery. He is a hero,&#8221; it reads.
Chrissy told The Daily Wire that her family is working to get Yulia’s Law passed in North Carolina. The law would bar hospitals from denying people transplants based on their COVID vaccination status. Chrissy would like to see the law go national.
&#8220;It&#8217;s just about medical freedom is what it really comes down to,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And it&#8217;s not just about Yulia. Through this whole thing, we&#8217;ve had about 10 or 15 people contact us privately and we&#8217;ve been able to send them to hospitals that we know will take them without the vaccine. So it is not just about Yulia; it&#8217;s helping other people already and we&#8217;re hoping we can expand that even more.&#8221;
The family is also pursuing a lawsuit against Duke over the hospital allegedly denying Yulia a place on the transplant list over her COVID vaccination status.
&#8220;We are also still raising money for legal fees for our lawsuit against Duke,&#8221; the GiveSendGo account says. &#8220;What they did to our daughter was unconscionable.&#8221;
Chrissy praised the team at ECUHealth for their care and professionalism.
&#8220;We want to thank the entire team at ECUHealth for everything, especially Dr. Leeser, Dr. Romine, Cynthia Stone, and Allyson Ayers.&#8221; the crowdfunding page reads. &#8220;They are the most caring and professional team that we have encountered on this journey.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says">The Daily Wire</a> reported last year that a phone call, the recording of which was <a href="https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/duke-university-surgeons-are-refusing">obtained</a> by journalist Alex Berenson, reportedly revealed a Duke health official telling the Hicks family that Yulia must get vaccinated against COVID before she could become a candidate for the kidney transplant.
“I can’t require you to do anything. I can recommend these things, but if you don’t follow our recommendations, then Yulia can’t be a transplant candidate here,” the Duke Health kidney specialist reportedly said.
Throughout her interview with The Daily Wire, Chrissy repeatedly gushed over everyone who&#8217;s supported and prayed for Yulia.
&#8220;Thank you,&#8221; Chrissy said. &#8220;Just, thank you. We can never &#8212; &#8216;thank you&#8217; will never be enough. Please keep praying for Yulia&#8217;s recovery and for this angel who saved her, J.J.&#8221;
Chrissy extended an invitation for J.J. to reach out to the family if he ever wanted.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mother-of-unvaccinated-girl-denied-kidney-transplant-by-duke-shares-huge-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mother Of Unvaccinated Girl Denied Kidney Transplant By Duke Says Daughter Has Secured Kidney</a>

Hicks Family via GiveSendGo

Mother Speaks Out After Yulia Hicks Undergoes Kidney Transplant Despite Alleged Duke Rejection Over COVID Vax

Mother Speaks Out After Daughter Yulia Hicks Undergoes Kidney Transplant Despite Alleged Duke Rejection Over COVID Vax 

COVID

Health

Money

North Carolina

Manhattan District Attorney <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alvin-bragg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alvin Bragg</a> is ready to sacrifice &#8220;Truth, Justice, and the American Way&#8221; like some sort of bloated bizarro Superman in order to take down the Left&#8217;s ultimate villain, former President Donald J. Trump.
Bragg knows nabbing Trump would make him the Democratic Party&#8217;s &#8220;Man of Steel&#8221; — even as his soft-on-crimes policies flood the Big Apple&#8217;s mean streets with criminals. It could even launch him to a higher office.
Some have speculated that Bragg is a 4-D chess grandmaster; pursuing an indictment would help Trump secure the 2024 GOP nomination, thereby ensuring President Joe Biden beats him again. Others say that the prosecutor is taking orders from the U.S. Department of Justice. Many even believe that the Left fears Trump and want him behind bars, U.S. Constitution be damned.
All those theories have one thing in common: They give way too much credit to the Democrats&#8217; hive-mind intellect.
The real play here is much simpler. Bragg is just the latest in a long line of local prosecutors chasing a trophy based on trumped-up charges for his own selfish reasons.
Remember North Carolina&#8217;s Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong in the infamous Duke University lacrosse rape hoax nearly two decades ago? Nifong was willing to throw a group of college kids in the slammer and ruin their lives all for the sake of winning re-election and currying political favor with the anti-Duke townies and full-year residents. The indictments of the young men were entirely crooked, but he attempted to do it because the ends — winning re-election — justified the means.
Bragg is following an old trail blazed by ruthless prosecutors like Nifong. Nailing Trump could help him distract his own voters from the rampant crime he is allowing and become the toast of the liberal chattering class. Mayor Bragg? Governor Bragg? The sky is the limit — as long as he isn&#8217;t bothered by the national and historic implications of arresting a former and possibly future president on a case legal experts say is breathtakingly bogus.
Bragg is another prosecutor funded by George Soros, the billionaire who seems hellbent on turning blue cities into dystopian nightmares. You&#8217;ll find them wherever crime is on the rise: In Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and on and on. They believe the system is rigged against black people and certain other minorities in America. Their solution is to go easy on killers, rapists, and robbers and, in Bragg&#8217;s case, criminalize conservatives instead.
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The approach always generates rising crime, and it is not guaranteed to help the political fortunes of the practitioners, no matter how much money Sugar Daddy Soros pours into their re-election campaigns. Ex-San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin learned that lesson when he got recalled for helping turn his city into a dangerous dump.
New York doesn&#8217;t have a DA recall procedure like the Golden State, but that doesn&#8217;t mean Bragg is safe from scrutiny. Fellow Democrat and New York City Mayor Eric Adams has spent most of the last year branding Bragg a &#8220;<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/06/06/mayor-adams-calls-nycs-criminal-justice-system-laughingstock/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">laughingstock</a>&#8221; for his leniency and record on crime.
Bragg surely knows nobody will be laughing if he brings down Trump.
As one former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/3751267-will-alvin-bragg-get-the-trump-bragging-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">put it last fall</a>, Bragg would have all-time &#8220;bragging rights&#8221; over every other law enforcement agency — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Fulton County District Attorney Fami Ellis, and even former FBI Director James Comey — investigating Trump for other legal matters.
With an entry like that on his resume, Bragg might even have a fallback plan if his perverted brand of public service doesn&#8217;t work out: His own show on MSNBC.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after the sentencing hearing of the Trump Organization at the New York Supreme Court on January 13, 2023 in New York City

What Is District Attorney Alvin Bragg Really Up To? The Simplest Explanation Might Be The Best Answer.

Alvin Bragg

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Manhattan

An American man being treated for prostate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cancer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cancer</a> suddenly developed an Irish accent, possibly because of his disease.
According to an article in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports, the unnamed man was being treated for prostate cancer at Duke University Medical Center. During his treatment, he suddenly started speaking in an Irish brogue, despite never having been to Ireland nor having immediate family from the country. Researchers diagnosed him with foreign accent syndrome, possibly triggered by an immune system response.
&#8220;A man in his 50s with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, receiving androgen deprivation therapy and abiraterone acetate/prednisone, presented with an uncontrollable ‘Irish brogue’ accent despite no Irish background, consistent with foreign accent syndrome (FAS),&#8221; <a href="https://casereports.bmj.com/content/16/1/e251655" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BMJ Case Reports</a> noted. &#8220;He had no neurological examination abnormalities, psychiatric history or MRI of the brain abnormalities at symptom onset. Imaging revealed progression of his prostate cancer, despite undetectable prostate-specific antigen levels.&#8221;
Foreign accent syndrome is a rare condition in which patients suddenly develop speech patterns different from their native accent, without having picked up another accent from its native place. The condition usually results from a stroke, but it can also be caused by head trauma, migraines, a developmental disorder, lesions in the brain, or a mental illness. In most cases, the change is temporary and can be fixed with intensive speech therapy, but in some cases, the change is permanent, The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/16/us-cancer-patient-develops-uncontrollable-irish-accent-doctors-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guardian</a> reported.
“His accent was uncontrollable, present in all settings and gradually became persistent,” the BMJ report stated.
The Guardian reported that the man had lived in England in his 20s, and had friends and distant family who were Irish, but had never actually been to the Emerald Isle, nor had he previously spoken in the Irish accent. He maintained the accent through about 20 months of treatment, the outlet reported.
“To our knowledge, this is the first case of FAS described in a patient with prostate cancer and the third described in a patient with malignancy,” the report stated.
One of the authors of the paper, Dr. Andrew Armstrong of Duke Medical Center&#8217;s Divisions of Medical Oncology and Urology, told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/south-carolina-man-develops-thick-irish-accent-mysterious-syndrome-1780497" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newsweek</a> that because this phenomenon is so new, it is hard to find a cause for the patient&#8217;s FAS. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have a &#8216;smoking gun&#8217; explanation in this case,&#8221; Armstrong said. &#8220;Other possibilities are psychological, although he did not have major issues with anxiety or depression and actually was fairly amused by this FAS development.&#8221;
&#8220;It is possible that this had a physical cause in his language center,&#8221; Armstrong added. &#8220;FAS can take many accent forms in different patients, and I assume prior knowledge of an accent is common. This is my first case personally. It is quite rare to see in oncology.&#8221;
The patient was diagnosed with small cell neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), an aggressive form of cancer that targets the nervous and endocrine systems. The report concluded that foreign accent syndrome was a novel &#8220;presenting manifestation&#8221; of NEPC. The presentation of FAS was consistent with an underlying <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/paraneoplastic-syndromes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355687" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paraneoplastic neurological disorder</a> (PND), an immune system reaction to a cancerous tumor where the cancer-fighting agent also attacks the brain or nervous system.
Unfortunately, the man&#8217;s condition only worsened. &#8220;Despite chemotherapy, his NEPC progressed resulting in multifocal brain metastases and a likely paraneoplastic ascending paralysis leading to his death,&#8221; the report stated.

Cancer cells, illustration

American Man’s Prostate Cancer May Have Caused Him To Suddenly Develop An Irish Accent

American Man's Prostate Cancer May Have Caused Him To Suddenly Develop An Irish Accent

Cancer

Ireland

Medical Research

World

A <a href="https://www.givesendgo.com/kidneyforyulia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundraiser</a> has exploded online for a child who was reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied a kidney transplant</a> by Duke University&#8217;s children’s hospital, raising nearly $230,000 in a matter of days.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yulia Hicks</a>, 14, has a genetic kidney disorder that requires a transplant, but her family says the hospital is refusing to put her on the kidney wait list because she is unvaccinated against COVID. Notably, the family says the girl has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-study-natural-immunity-beats-vax-against-delta-variant">already recovered from the virus</a>.
&#8220;We are overwhelmed by the generosity we have been shown,&#8221; Lee and Chrissy Hicks, Yulia&#8217;s parents, <a href="https://www.givesendgo.com/kidneyforyulia">posted</a> in an update to the GiveSendGo fundraiser. &#8220;Our God is great! He will not abandon us. &#8230; TO GOD BE THE GLORY!&#8221;
The North Carolina family said in an update posted on Thursday that they have retained a lawyer to help fight the hospital, adding that they are &#8220;praying we can change the policy for others.&#8221;
&#8220;We increased the amount we are trying to raise because we know we will have legal fees, and we don&#8217;t know the extent of our bills for travel, etc. as we will likely be going out of state for transplant,&#8221; Lee and Chrissy said. The goal for the fundraiser is now set at half a million dollars.
The GiveSendGo account called Duke&#8217;s alleged move to deny Yulia the kidney transplant a &#8220;horrible injustice,&#8221; noting that the girl&#8217;s family now &#8220;must pay for out-of-state travel and lodging expenses for not only Yulia and her mother, but also her potential donor!&#8221;
&#8220;The transplant process is not easy nor quick,&#8221; the post continued. &#8220;Between the numerous pre-surgery tests, the procedure itself, recovery and the years of regular appointments, the whole endeavor is now financially IMPOSSIBLE for the large Hicks family.&#8221;
Yulia was adopted into the Hicks family from Ukraine in January 2021. &#8220;She fit in right away with Lee and Chrissy&#8217;s 10 other children, 2 of which are also adopted,&#8221; the fundraiser said.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says">The Daily Wire</a> reported last week that an alleged recorded phone call, <a href="https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/duke-university-surgeons-are-refusing">obtained</a> by journalist Alex Berenson, revealed a Duke health official telling the Hicks family that Yulia must get vaccinated against COVID before she can become a candidate for the kidney transplant.
“I can’t require you to do anything. I can recommend these things, but if you don’t follow our recommendations, then Yulia can’t be a transplant candidate here,” the Duke Health kidney specialist reportedly said.
“Being unvaccinated to the CDC recommended vaccinations based on her age is part of that,” the kidney specialist allegedly added.
Her family says Yulia has already contracted COVID and recovered, but doctors told them Yulia’s natural immunity was not enough, according to the recorded call.
“The virus has continued to mutate and so the natural immunity is not as good as if you had natural immunity plus vaccination,” one doctor said in the call.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tucker Carlson speaks with a mother whose daughter was denied a kidney transplant by Duke University Hospital because she hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Find out more: <a href="https://t.co/UQrv0UQAxz">https://t.co/UQrv0UQAxz</a> <a href="https://t.co/gNzIycs8WU">pic.twitter.com/gNzIycs8WU</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1601392115505717248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A representative for Duke Health told The Daily Wire last week they would check on the situation.
Mairead Elordi contributed to this report. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-university-hospital-denied-14-year-old-girl-kidney-transplant-over-covid-vaccine-family-says">Duke Children’s Hospital Denied 14-Year-Old Girl Kidney Transplant Over Covid Vaccine, Family Says</a>

Covid-19 vaccine filling syringe

Fundraiser Explodes For Child After Family Says Duke Denying Kidney Transplant Over COVID Vax

Fundraiser Explodes For 14-Year-Old After Family Says Duke Is Denying Teen Kidney Transplant For Skipping COVID Vax 

COVID-19

COVID-19 Vaccine

hospital

Unvaccinated

The Duke University children&#8217;s hospital is denying a young girl a kidney transplant because she has not received a COVID <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vaccine-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccine</a>, her family says.
Yulia Hicks, 14, has a genetic kidney disorder that requires a kidney transplant, but according to her family, Duke Children&#8217;s Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, is refusing to put her on the kidney wait list because she is unvaccinated.
Yulia&#8217;s adoptive parents recorded a phone call with Duke Health in which the family was told that doctors would not do the kidney transplant unless Yulia received a COVID vaccine.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t require you to do anything. I can recommend these things, but if you don&#8217;t follow our recommendations, then Yulia can&#8217;t be a transplant candidate here,&#8221; a Duke Health kidney specialist reportedly <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11523171/North-Carolina-family-unvaccinated-14-year-old-search-medical-center-kidney-transplant.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Hicks in the phone call.
&#8220;Being unvaccinated to the CDC recommended vaccinations based on her age is part of that,&#8221; the kidney specialist added.
Her family says Yulia has already contracted COVID and recovered, but doctors told them Yulia&#8217;s natural immunity was not enough, according to a recorded call.
&#8220;The virus has continued to mutate and so the natural immunity is not as good as if you had natural immunity plus vaccination,&#8221; one doctor said in the phone call.
Some <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10499655/Antibodies-unjabbed-Covid-survivors-stronger-protection-two-doses-study-claims.html">studies</a> have shown that natural immunity can be superior to the COVID vaccine. One recent study also <a href="https://www.wishtv.com/news/medical/new-study-finds-organ-recipients-rejecting-transplant-after-receiving-covid-vaccine/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">suggested</a> that the COVID vaccine could be to blame for certain organ transplant recipients rejecting their new organs.
Contacted for comment, a representative for Duke Health initially told The Daily Wire that they would check on the situation but failed to provide a comment by the deadline.
The Hicks family has 11 children including Yulia, who they adopted from Ukraine in January 2021. Yulia stayed with two other U.S. families before the Hicks, who are working hard to give her a stable, loving home.
Yulia&#8217;s condition requires daily peritoneal dialysis, which her family has done with her at home every night for over a year. They say that they have been working with Duke for the last two years since her dialysis is through the hospital.
&#8220;They tell us all the time she&#8217;s a model patient,&#8221; Hicks told The Daily Wire. &#8220;We do everything they tell us to do, really. The only thing we won&#8217;t do is get this COVID vaccine.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s why we feel like it&#8217;s kind of a power struggle because it&#8217;s like, you told us it was a recommendation. Recommendation means I get to choose. But you&#8217;re denying me because of your recommendation,&#8221; Hicks added.
On Friday, Hicks appeared on Tucker Carlson&#8217;s Fox News show and said they are hoping a medical center will come forward and offer to perform the transplant without the vaccination requirement.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no sympathy whatsoever from any of them. It&#8217;s just strong-arming us, just give her the vaccine and then you&#8217;ll get the transplant,&#8221; Hicks told Carlson.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tucker Carlson speaks with a mother whose daughter was denied a kidney transplant by Duke University Hospital because she hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Find out more: <a href="https://t.co/UQrv0UQAxz">https://t.co/UQrv0UQAxz</a> <a href="https://t.co/gNzIycs8WU">pic.twitter.com/gNzIycs8WU</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1601392115505717248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The family has also retained an attorney, but her mother said they cannot have Yulia&#8217;s life hanging in the balance with litigation, so they are not sure what legal moves they will make.
Hicks said that while their family no longer has faith in the doctors at Duke to perform Yulia&#8217;s transplant, they still want the policy changed for others.
&#8220;This is not just us that&#8217;s facing this. We&#8217;ve been given a microphone for whatever reason,&#8221; Hicks told The Daily Wire. &#8220;It&#8217;s not just for us. It&#8217;s to change the policy so that other people don&#8217;t suffer the same thing that we&#8217;re suffering.&#8221;
Hicks said the experience has taken an emotional toll on her because the doctors &#8220;bully&#8221; her more than they do her military husband. She now sends her husband with Yulia to attend most of their appointments.
&#8220;We really try to shield our children a lot from it. We just don&#8217;t want them to have to carry our burden,&#8221; Hicks said.
&#8220;We&#8217;re both veterans. We fought for freedom and we&#8217;re not even able to experience it right now,&#8221; she continued.
The family says they do not have extra funds to travel out of state to another hospital for the kidney transplant, so they have set up a <a href="https://www.givesendgo.com/kidneyforyulia">fundraiser</a> to help with the costs as well as a <a href="https://christinehicks66.wixsite.com/kidney-for-yulia-gra/my-blog">website</a> to share updates on Yulia.
&#8220;We have had an outpouring of help already. We&#8217;re so grateful for people who have stepped forward,&#8221; Hicks said.

TOPSHOT-FRANCE-HEALTH-VIRUS

Duke Children’s Hospital Denied 14-Year-Old Girl Kidney Transplant Over Covid Vaccine, Family Says

Duke University Hospital Denied 14-Year-Old Girl Kidney Transplant Over Covid Vaccine, Family Says

Children

Children's Health

Vaccine Mandate

Vaccines

On Friday, August 26th, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-casts-doubt-on-story-that-fan-shouted-n-word-at-duke-volleyball-player">Duke University volleyball team</a> took the court against Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. 5,507 fans gathered for the contest &#8211; a school record for women’s volleyball.
Following the match, reports surfaced claiming  Duke player Rachel Richardson was a victim of racial heckling from a person in the BYU student section. Richardson’s Godmother, Lesa Pamplin, who is running for circuit court judge in Fort Worth, Texas, tweeted, “My Goddaughter is the only black starter on Duke’s volleyball team. While playing yesterday, she was called a n***er every time she served.”
Naturally, this prompted responses from every media outlet in the nation. BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe issued an immediate apology and banned the accused fan indefinitely. LeBron James and other celebrities joined in supporting Richardson, and University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley canceled a previously scheduled home-and-home series with BYU.
Only after the viral chaos was unleashed did someone bother to check the facts.
It took two weeks for BYU to complete a full-scale investigation and issue a <a href="https://byucougars.com/story/athletics/1300724/statement-byu-athletics-regarding-investigation-aug-26-volleyball-match">statement</a>, which read in part, “We reviewed all available video and audio recordings, including security footage and raw footage from all camera angles &#8230; From our extensive review, we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegations that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.”
The lack of evidence from this immense inquiry didn’t stop Duke <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-volleyball-cea1e5cc8c3f62afc84caff5826d53da">from doubling down, stating</a>, “We unequivocally stand with and champion our women, especially when their character is called into question. Duke athletics believes in respect, equality and inclusiveness, and we do not tolerate hate and bias.”
Is it hateful or biased to seek the truth? I would think a university still tarnished by the lacrosse scandal of 2006 would vet unfounded claims more thoroughly.
Former Duke basketball star Jay Bilas <a href="https://twitter.com/JayBilas/status/1568262392689172482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">tweeted</a>, “We stand with and up for Rachel Richardson.” 
How about standing with and up for the facts?
Too often, fraudulent behavior in our society is rewarded or, at least, not punished. This is the byproduct of waging war on objective truth. Grifters are now able to scream lies through a megaphone; then, if caught, they issue retractions on a sticky note. (Or, in many cases, issue no retraction at all.)
A common response following the Jussie Smollett fiasco went something like, Well, he may not be telling the truth about this particular incident, but this type of behavior is historically accurate.
Historically accurate? Try explaining the concept of historical accuracy to the BYU fan who is being banned from campus for an action he or she didn’t commit. 
I am unable to say for certain what Rachel Richardson heard or didn’t hear, but I have a hard time believing that the 5,507 people in attendance &#8211; on a college campus, no less, where sensitivity towards hateful language is at an all-time high &#8211; sat back without intervening while someone repeatedly shouted the n-word.
I also found parts of Richardson’s official <a href="https://twitter.com/rachrich03/status/1563931324569849856?cxt=HHwWgMC84Z3QmbQrAAAA">statement</a> to be problematic, specifically where she expressed, “It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist.”
This sort of semantic manipulation, where the goal posts of social misconduct constantly shift, must be eradicated. By the time you, as the reader, reach the end of this sentence, anti-racism will no longer be an acceptable moral position &#8211; you will have to now be double-anti-racist.
As of this writing, Duke University has yet to issue an apology to the aforementioned man accused of racist language, South Carolina women’s basketball has not rescheduled its series with the Cougars, and BYU has double-downed on its decision to keep fans from sitting behind opposing players in an effort to make their competitors feel more comfortable.
Collegiate athletics are not meant to be comfortable; they’re meant to be uncomfortable. They’re meant to prepare young men and women for the demanding world that lies in wait. Listening to our children as they share concerns is one thing; it’s quite another to coddle them.
America can never rewrite its racial past. Instead, we citizens must find a way to move forward together as one nation, not as separate races.
Ben Shapiro says it best: if someone commits a racist action, point them out, so we can hold them accountable together. Shouldn’t we demand the same accountability for those who fabricate racist encounters? Shouldn’t we require punishment for those who ruin the lives of others in an effort to promote ideological narratives?
Given Lesa Pamplin’s propensity for race-baiting, as evidenced by her twitter feed, there is a larger agenda at play. It’s clear, the demand for discrimination has now outpaced the supply, and for those upset by today’s lack of bigotry, remember: when everything is racist, nothing is racist.
David Cone is a co-host and producer of the Daily Wire’s sports show <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/crain-and-company">Crain &amp; Company</a>, as well as a contributor to Morning Wire. David is also a former quarterback for the University of Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @davidadamcone
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

2021 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship

When Everything Is Racist – Nothing Is Racist

Anti-Racism

Brigham Young University

Racism

Readers Pass

Some <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-volleyball-players-racial-abuse-claim-persists-despite-police-finding-no-evidence-it-happened" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stories</a> are just too good to fact-check for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/legacy-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legacy media</a> and their &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-soul-of-joe-bidens-america-is-dark-as-hell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mainstream Republican</a>&#8221; counterparts.
Chief among such news items are ones that stoke racial animosity. If it&#8217;s an opportunity to knock down a group of Christians, then that&#8217;s even better for the usual suspects, who jump at the chance to shriek about alleged bigotry running rampant.
The latest example of this malfeasance comes out of Utah. Recently, as has been widely reported, Duke University volleyball star Rachel Richardson claimed that several <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/byu-rooting-out-racism-task-force-calls-for-race-conscious-religious-curriculum-admissions-standards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brigham Young University</a> (BYU) fans subjected her to racial heckling during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-volleyball-players-racial-abuse-claim-persists-despite-police-finding-no-evidence-it-happened" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duke vs. BYU</a> women’s volleyball match on August 26. There was no video evidence, despite it allegedly occurring in the middle of the day in a packed gymnasium.
What happened next was entirely predictable. Those who should know better condemned the incident wholeheartedly. Members of the media claimed it was more evidence of America&#8217;s racial struggle. Republicans intent on appeasing the Left rather than fighting for truth issued heartfelt tweets.
For example, Utah&#8217;s Governor Spencer Cox <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220827225411/https://twitter.com/spencerjcox/status/1563659993764638721">tweeted</a> in a since-deleted post, &#8220;Just catching up on this terrible story. I’m disgusted that this behavior is happening and deeply saddened if others didn’t step up to stop it.&#8221;
&#8220;As a society we have to do more to create an atmosphere where racist a**holes like this never feel comfortable attacking others,&#8221; he added.
Cox has also defended actual racism <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/04/19/rundown-tucker-carlson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">against</a> white kids in the past, so perhaps his response isn&#8217;t surprising.
Whatever the case, almost nobody in authority waited for the facts, not even BYU. The school almost immediately banned some poor fan who was accused of uttering the profanities in question.
On Friday, BYU completed its lengthy investigation into the incident. It looked at all available audio and video evidence, interviewed more than 50 people at the court that day, and made a conclusion. BYU <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/byu-finishes-investigation-says-no-racial-slurs-were-hurled-at-duke-volleyball-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a>, &#8220;we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.&#8221;
As a result, the aforementioned ban on the spectator has been lifted.
Folks who decry racism should be glad that it looks more likely than not that the heckling never occurred.
Yet, Duke responded to the announcement by sticking with Richardson and its volleyball team.
&#8220;The 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity,&#8221; Duke&#8217;s Vice President &amp; Director of Athletics Nina King said in a statement. &#8220;We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question.&#8221;
Noted Duke alumnus Jay Bilas even stated his continued support for Richardson. Bilas tweeted, &#8220;We stand with and up for Rachel Richardson.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We stand with and up for Rachel Richardson. <a href="https://t.co/swnFWYe8zW">https://t.co/swnFWYe8zW</a>
&mdash; Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayBilas/status/1568262392689172482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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If anybody should know college controversies regarding race aren&#8217;t always what they seem, Bilas should.
The former college basketball star was featured prominently in ESPN&#8217;s &#8220;Fantastic Lies&#8221; about Duke&#8217;s last racial imbroglio — the Duke lacrosse scandal. In 2006, members of the Duke lacrosse were infamously accused of raping a black stripper. It was all a lie.
Bilas was disgusted by the university&#8217;s response, most notably from then-President Richard Brodhead.
&#8220;From the beginning, President Brodhead abdicated his responsibility as Duke&#8217;s leader to stand up for fairness and truth,&#8221; 
Bilas <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/14949958/one-duke-high-profile-alumni-pens-letter-calling-leadership-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a letter to Duke Magazine that was never published by the outlet. &#8220;Instead, President Brodhead chose the path of political expediency. He failed to effectively counter factually inaccurate and inappropriate statements about Duke and its students, failed to forcefully speak out against procedural irregularities and failed to take appropriate action in response to repeated attacks upon the due process rights of Duke&#8217;s students. That is unacceptable.&#8221;
But Bilas doesn&#8217;t appear to have taken the lessons he learned in 2006 and applied them in 2022.
BYU also chose political expediency and failed its students by rushing to implement penalties for something without evidence. Duke, in standing by their volleyball team despite the absence of evidence, still doesn&#8217;t really seem interested in looking at the truth.
Based on his reaction to the latest news, it would appear that Bilas&#8217; loyalty might be more aligned with Duke than to fairness or honesty.
Bilas, of course, is just one person. Plenty of other Americans believe claims of racism without first waiting for the facts, only to have the truth come out long after it&#8217;s buried in everybody&#8217;s mind something nefarious happened.
It happened with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/covington-catholic-high-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covington Catholic kids</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-levels-jussie-smollett-in-post-sentencing-rant-i-dont-feel-sorry-for-him-at-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jussie Smollet</a>, NASCAR driver <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/espn-slammed-after-claiming-noose-was-found-in-bubba-wallaces-garage-in-2020-race-hoaxing-clowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bubba Wallace</a>, and even at the school where former second lady Karen Pence taught art. It was falsely <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/timothymeads/2019/09/30/fake-news-no-three-white-boys-did-not-pin-down-a-black-girl-and-cut-her-hair-la-n2553915" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that three white boys pinned down a black girl and cut her hair.
In a nation that the Left claims is full of racists — and with elected GOP officials apparently ready to support that notion — why do so many racial hoaxes happen and dominate national news? Why are there never cries of joy once it is determined no such hateful acts occurred?
Perpetrators of such hoaxes, and those who willingly push them, never have to answer such questions. The cycle continues, and there are rarely any consequences for those who advance the false stories.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Racial Hoaxes Remain Too Good To Fact-Check For The Left

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/duke-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duke University</a> responded Friday to Brigham Young University&#8217;s (BYU) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/byu-finishes-investigation-says-no-racial-slurs-were-hurled-at-duke-volleyball-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finding</a> that there is no evidence that racial slurs were hurled at a Duke female volleyball player by saying the university stands by its athletes “when their character is called into question.”
Rachel Richardson, a black Duke volleyball player, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-casts-doubt-on-story-that-fan-shouted-n-word-at-duke-volleyball-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> late last month that a spectator at a recent match called her racial slurs, a claim that was amplified by major publications and Richardson’s godmother, a Democrat political candidate in Texas.
“From our extensive review, we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event. As we stated earlier, we would not tolerate any conduct that would make a student-athlete feel unsafe. That is the reason for our immediate response and our thorough investigation,” BYU <a href="https://byucougars.com/story/athletics/1300724/statement-byu-athletics-regarding-investigation-aug-26-volleyball-match" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement on Friday. “As a result of our investigation, we have lifted the ban on the fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match. We have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity. BYU sincerely apologizes to that fan for any hardship the ban has caused.”
Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Nina King released a statement <a href="https://goduke.com/news/2022/9/9/volleyball-statement-from-duke-university-vice-president-director-of-athletics-nina-king.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that “the 18 members of the Duke University volleyball team are exceptionally strong women who represent themselves, their families, and Duke University with the utmost integrity.”
“We unequivocally stand with and champion them, especially when their character is called into question,” King concluded. “Duke Athletics believes in respect, equality and inclusiveness, and we do not tolerate hate and bias.”
BYU&#8217;s finding that no racial slurs were used came after the university interviewed more than 50 people who attended the game and reviewed all available audio and video recordings they could find.
When Richardson made the unsubstantiated accusation late last month, she said that her goal was not to “call BYU’s athletics out, but rather to call them up,” as she saw this as “an opportunity to dig deep into closed cultures which tolerate amoral racist acts, such as those exhibited Friday night, and change them for the better.”
Richardson then wrote: “It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist.”
BYU Police Lt. George Besendorfer <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2022/08/30/fan-who-was-banned-by-byu-does/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that based on law enforcement’s initial review of the surveillance footage of the crowd, there was no evidence that the person who was banned did what Richardson accused him of doing.
“When we watched the video, we did not observe that behavior from him,” he said.
Besendorfer further said that no one else has come forward to say that they heard any racial slurs being shouted during the game.

Buffalo v Duke

Duke Responds To BYU Investigation Concluding No Evidence Racial Slurs Were Shouted At Black Player

Duke Responds To BYU Investigation Concluding No Racial Slurs Were Shouted At Black Player

Education

Sports

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/byu-rooting-out-racism-task-force-calls-for-race-conscious-religious-curriculum-admissions-standards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brigham Young University</a> (BYU) released a statement on Friday stating that after a thorough investigation, no evidence had been found that racial heckling and slurs took place at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/duke-volleyball-players-racial-abuse-claim-persists-despite-police-finding-no-evidence-it-happened" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duke vs. BYU</a> women’s volleyball match on August 26.
A public maelstrom had been catalyzed after Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson had claimed BYU fans yelled racial slurs at her during that game.
“We reviewed all available video and audio recordings, including security footage and raw footage from all camera angles taken by BYUtv of the match, with broadcasting audio removed (to ensure that the noise from the stands could be heard more clearly),” the BYU <a href="https://byucougars.com/story/athletics/1300724/statement-byu-athletics-regarding-investigation-aug-26-volleyball-match" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> read. “We also reached out to more than 50 individuals who attended the event: Duke athletic department personnel and student-athletes, BYU athletic department personnel and student-athletes, event security and management and fans who were in the arena that evening, including many of the fans in the on-court student section.”
The day after the game, Richardson’s godmother, Lesa Pamplin, who was running for election for the number five judge of the Tarrant County Criminal Court in Texas, tweeted, “My Goddaughter is the only black starter for Dukes volleyball team. While playing yesterday, she was called a n***er every time she served.”
That prompted NBA star Lebron James to chime in, “@LesaPamplin, you tell your Goddaughter to stand tall, be proud and continue to be BLACK!!! We are a brotherhood and sisterhood! We have her back. This is not sports.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/LesaPamplin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LesaPamplin</a>, you tell your Goddaughter to stand tall, be proud and continue to be BLACK!!! We are a brotherhood and sisterhood! We have her back. This is not sports. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/striveforgreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#striveforgreatness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/morethanavollyballplayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#morethanavollyballplayer</a> 🤎🤎🤎✊🏾👑 <a href="https://t.co/kMveNLKp5h">https://t.co/kMveNLKp5h</a>
&mdash; LeBron James (@KingJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1563663546524876801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The next day, Richardson <a href="https://twitter.com/rachrich03/status/1563931324569849856">claimed</a>, “Friday night in our match against Brigham Young University my fellow African American teammates and I were targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match. The slurs and comments grew into threats which caused us to feel unsafe.”
Richardson accused the officials and BYU coaching staff of being aware of the slurs but failing to “take the necessary steps to stop the unacceptable behavior and create a safe environment.”
A week after the August 26 game, South Carolina women’s basketball <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/byu-cougars/2022/09/02/south-carolina-womens-basketball/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">canceled</a> its home-and-home series with Brigham Young.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley <a href="https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2022/09/02/womens-basketball-to-change-opponent-for-home-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “As a head coach, my job is to do what’s best for my players and staff. The incident at BYU has led me to reevaluate our home-and-home, and I don’t feel that this is the right time for us to engage in this series.”
“From our extensive review, we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event,” the BYU statement continued, before referring to a fan who had been subsequently banned from the campus after being mistakenly identified as someone yelling racial slurs.
“As a result of our investigation, we have lifted the ban on the fan who was identified as having uttered racial slurs during the match. We have not found any evidence that that individual engaged in such an activity,” the statement declared.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BYU releases a statement stating, &quot;we have not found any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs&quot; at a BYU-Duke volleyball match on Aug. 26.
BYU says it lifted the ban on the fan who allegedly uttered the racial slurs. <a href="https://t.co/e6sJH5nbVH">pic.twitter.com/e6sJH5nbVH</a>
&mdash; Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) <a href="https://twitter.com/markjburns88/status/1568241247558541316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

2019 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship

BYU Finishes Investigation, Says No Racial Slurs Were Hurled At Duke Volleyball Player

LeBron James

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/duke-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duke University</a> volleyball player claimed a man repeatedly shouted racial slurs at her during a game last week, but video of the game does not appear to show the incident, casting doubt on her story.
Rachel Richardson, a sophomore at Duke, said a man in the stands &#8220;racially heckled&#8221; her and eventually threatened her during Friday&#8217;s game against Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
&#8220;My fellow African American teammates and I were targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match. The slurs and comments grew into threats which caused us to feel unsafe,&#8221; Richardson said in a statement she tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/morethanavolleyballplayer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#morethanavolleyballplayer</a> <a href="https://t.co/JJsofA6VgI">pic.twitter.com/JJsofA6VgI</a>
&mdash; rachel ♡ (@rachrich03) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachrich03/status/1563931324569849856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Richardson said game officials and BYU coaching staff were repeatedly informed about the incident, but failed to act both during and after the game.
&#8220;As a result, my teammates and I had to struggle just to get through the rest of the game, instead of just being able to focus on our playing so that we could compete at the highest level possible,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;This is an opportunity to dig deep into closed cultures which tolerate amoral racist acts, such as those exhibited Friday night, and change them for the better. It is not enough to indicate that you are not racist, instead you must demonstrate that you are anti-racist,&#8221; Richardson said.
The allegation was initially made by Richardson&#8217;s godmother, Lesa Pamplin, who said her goddaughter was called the n-word &#8220;every time she served.&#8221; A police officer had to be placed by Duke&#8217;s bench, she said. Pamplin also said that later, on the way back to the team bus, Richardson was threatened by a &#8220;white male&#8221; who told her to &#8220;watch her back.&#8221;
Pamplin is currently <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LesaPamplinforCCC5">running</a> for a county criminal court judgeship in Fort Worth, Texas.
However, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7yU_Lx-H28&amp;t=3s">video</a> of the entire game posted on YouTube does not appear show anyone yelling slurs at any point, and so far, no cell phone footage of the incident has surfaced either. The video also does not appear to show a police officer near Duke&#8217;s bench at any point.
BYU issued an <a href="https://twitter.com/BYUCougars/status/1563616547880329216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1563616547880329216%7Ctwgr%5E65bd2979f510e837a55e071e850a445e10c5b600%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftbdailynews.com%2Fvideo-shows-that-duke-volleyball-player-and-her-politician-godmother-are-lying-about-being-called-n-word-during-byu-game%2F">apology</a> within hours, saying they banned the racist fan, who was &#8220;identified by Duke.&#8221; The person, who is not a BYU student, despite sitting in the student section according to the school, is now banned from all BYU athletic venues.
The alleged incident attracted support for Richardson from several high-profile figures, <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1563663546524876801">including</a> LeBron James and Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican.
&#8220;I need you to personally call my Goddaughter. She needs to hear your words condemning this abhorrent behavior. Thank you,&#8221; Pamplin tweeted at Cox, who <a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox/status/1563738572431040512">responded</a> that he would love to call Richardson.
Pamplin has since made her Twitter account private, but she has reportedly tweeted multiple comments criticizing white people over the years.
&#8220;White women and men always disappoint,&#8221; she tweeted in 2018, <a href="https://tbdailynews.com/video-shows-that-duke-volleyball-player-and-her-politician-godmother-are-lying-about-being-called-n-word-during-byu-game/">according</a> to a screenshot of the tweet.
Hoaxes involving alleged racism have <a href="https://www.commentary.org/articles/wilfred-reilly/hate-crime-hoaxes-why-they-happen/">cropped up</a> frequently in recent years.
The most famous such hoax occurred in 2019, when actor Jussie Smollett staged a fake hate crime on himself in Chicago. Smollett told police that two men attacked him outside his apartment building, yelled racial and anti-gay slurs, as well as the phrase, &#8220;This is MAGA country,&#8221; and put a noose around his neck. An investigation <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/03/16/jussie-smollett-jail-sentence-appeals-court-decision/7064981001/">found</a> Smollett had paid two work acquaintances to stage the assault.

Video Casts Doubt On Story That Fan Shouted N-Word At Duke Volleyball Player

Utah

NEW ORLEANS — When Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski addressed the fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the last time in March, he let the Cameron Crazies know that the loss to North Carolina was not the end of the road for his coaching career. 
“Today was unacceptable, but the season has been very acceptable,” Krzyzewski <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1500286645488144386?s=20&amp;t=gyZSf5IuZU41xw8qyLO0_A">said</a>. “And I’ll tell you, the season isn’t over. 
Coach K wasn’t lying. 
Duke has gone on a tear in the NCAA tournament, beating Cal State Fullerton, Michigan State, Texas Tech, and Arkansas to reach the Final Four in New Orleans. It’s the 13th and final Final Four for Krzyzewski, as the all-time great will finally call it quits after the season ends. So, while the season isn’t over, it’s certainly drawing to a close, as is the career of the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history. 
All the greats of years past will descend upon New Orleans in order to witness Coach K attempt to win his sixth national championship, in his 42nd year as head coach of Duke basketball. 
“I’m just excited for Coach,” Duke great Carlos Boozer told The Daily Wire. “He’s been through a lot in his 42 years, very successful of course. But for this team to come together at the right time, playing their best basketball, at the end of the season with Coach K’s last two games, last Final Four. A lot of us are here of course to witness it. I’m just proud of these guys for taking on the pressure. We never had that pressure of Coach K’s last season. We don’t know what that feels like, only those guys in that uniform do. But we’re here to support him, cheer him on, and hopefully celebrate with him on Monday.” 
The pressure will never be greater, as Duke and North Carolina will face off for the third time this season on Saturday, and for the first time ever in the NCAA tournament. The matchup will be the 258th in the history of the rivalry, and there’s never been more on the line. 
“I really think each of us was a different team,” Krzyzewski <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/31/north-carolina-declared-as-center-of-the-college-basketball-universe">said</a> at his Tuesday press conference. “We were different when we played them there (Feb. 5), and so were they. Then we played them here (March 5), they had developed into an outstanding team, and we weren’t at that time. We’re going to have two really good teams play against one another (on Saturday). Whereas, the last two games, we were better than them at that point, and they were better than us at the other point. And, now, we’ll see what happens.”
They most certainly are different teams. 
In their first game, an early February matchup in Chapel Hill, Duke outrebounded North Carolina 40-24, at one point holding a 28-point lead in a 87-67 Blue Devils victory. Junior forward Armando Bacot was held to just 12 points and five rebounds for North Carolina. In their March matchup in Durham, the script was flipped, with Bacot scoring 23 points on 10-11 shooting in a 94-81 North Carolina victory to ruin Coach K’s farewell. Since then, Bacot has been spectacular, grabbing double-digit rebounds in all four of the Tar Heels&#8217; NCAA tournament games. 
Duke is rolling, boasting a roster with four potential first round draft picks, and a top-five pick in Paolo Banchero. 
Boozer thinks his Blue Devils are ready, playing their best basketball of the season. 
“They’re locked in. They’re focused, they’re ready,” Boozer told The Daily Wire. “They’ve been having great practices, they’re finally completely healthy. Everybody from top to bottom is healthy. So, they’re going into the Final Four the best they’ve played all season.”
It&#8217;s college basketball at its finest, with the end of an era potentially one game away. The first two games are a long forgotten memory, but for fans of college basketball, the memories of Saturday’s matchup at the Superdome in New Orleans will last a lifetime. 
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Boozer celebrates

‘They’re Locked In’: Duke Great Says Blue Devils Are Playing Best Basketball Of The Season

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