Former University of Alabama gymnast Tia Kiaku accused an assistant coach within the program of making a racist comment against her, ultimately leading her to leave the program.
Log in to view the full article
Former University of Alabama gymnast Tia Kiaku accused an assistant coach within the program of making a racist comment against her, ultimately leading her to leave the program.Â
The post, which went up on Tuesday, alleged multiple incidents of racism. Though the original post didn’t identify the assistant coach in question, Kiaku told AL.com that the comments were made by Bill Lorenz.
ÂÂÂView this post on InstagramA post shared by Tia Kiaku (@tia_kiaku) on Jun 2, 2020 at 2:55pm PDT
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, in a statement to AL.com on Wednesday, said that the incident was investigated when it was first reported.
“We are limited by law on what we can speak about regarding equal opportunity matters, however we can elaborate on what steps were taken," Greg Byrne said in the statement. "When the complaint was received, it was immediately reported to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Programs on campus as well as the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. From there, an investigation, completely separate from athletics, took place. Once the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Programs gathered all of the facts, an outcome was determined, reported back and action steps were taken. We are a department that is committed to providing a just and inclusive community for all of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, operating with integrity and respect.”
Speaking to AL.com, Kiaku recounted additional instances of racist behavior within the gymnastics program, including use of the N-word, complaints about rap music, and a black volunteer coach being described as “not really black.”
"It’s just a lot of little things that have built up,” Kiaku told AL.com. “I look back and think that’s not acceptable. That’s not a professional way to handle, to say things or to do anything. There’s a lot of things that are inappropriate that I’ve been through with this program.”
Kiaku told AL.com that she was influenced by current events to make her story public. She has reportedly entered the transfer portal, hoping to compete in gymnastics at another institution.Â
Â