A survey of Louisiana State University athletics employees conducted amid racial unrest following the murder of George Floyd last year found that 27 percent of Black full-time employees reported experiencing discrimination at work compared to 4 percent of white full-time employees.
In September 2020, the Louisiana State University Athletics Administration distributed a racial climate survey to its employees.
Stephanie Rempe, the LSU executive deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, said the feedback was upsetting in some cases.
“When I first got the results, I was pretty rattled,” Rempe told Theundefeated.com. “There’s some stuff in there that’s hard to hear when you realize your staff is hurting and feeling a certain type of way.”
LSU said the survey was designed by a research team to evaluate the department’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and to assist the department in planning for related future initiatives aimed at creating lasting change.
Of a total of 312 full-time athletic department employees, 232 responded, a 74 percent response rate that the school said is “significantly higher” than other recent campus climate surveys.
According to Theundefeated report, LSU’s survey said that three main areas need to be addressed:
- Hiring and promotion: ”Less than half of respondents across racial/ethnic categories reported satisfaction with current levels of diversity among LSU athletics’ staff, coaches and administration.”
- Inclusion and retention: “Black [and, to a lesser degree, all URM] full-time employees reported different workplace experiences than white full-time employees. Over one quarter [27%] of Black full-time employees had personally experienced racial or ethnic discrimination in their work environment, compared to just 4 percent of white.”
- Education and initiatives: ”Survey findings indicate racial/ethnic differences in respondents’ experiences with and perspectives on police brutality, #BlackLivesMatter [#BLM], and activism in the world of sports. … Comments from many white respondents, in particular, emphasized their own need and/or desire for more education on race, ethnicity and racism.”
