NCCU Student Alleges Elon University Football Player Hurled Racial Slurs At Her During Game

A freshman at North Carolina Central University says she was the target of racial slurs while attending her first-ever football game, opposing the HBCU and Elon University on Saturday. Samihya Love was sitting in the stands when she alleges that a football player hurled racial slurs at her and even laughed about it afterward.

“It was just a matter of, why do I not feel safe on my own campus?” Love said on social media, according to Elon News Network , a student news outlet for the university. “Like at the end of the day, I just graduated high school, I’m an 18 year old. I’ve never had to deal with firsthand racism.”

“I know a lot of times athletes are put on this pedestal to where they can do no wrong, because they make so much money for the school, or they do so much, and that overshadows the students who pay tuition, the students who have to live there,” she added. “I just want to stop that. I want to stop that, ‘There’s nothing you can do about this. It happens all the time.’”

Love also called out online comments that blamed her for the incident.

“A lot of people are saying in my comments and stuff that this had to be provoked by me, or something like that, which I just find outlandish, that it always has to be the angry Black woman narrative,” she said. “Why can’t y’all just believe that I was there enjoying the game, and one of y’all’s players got upset to the point where he spout racial slurs at me?”

Elon University has since launched an investigation, according to Jason Knavel, the associate athletics director of strategic communications.

“We are aware of the allegations about comments made during Elon’s recent football game. We are looking into this incident and any substantiated allegations will be addressed appropriately by the university,” told Elon News Network. “Elon University is a community based on a strong commitment to inclusivity and belonging, and intolerant behavior and comments have no place here.”

Though Love identified the player on social media, Elon News Network stated that they could not independently verify the identity of the football player.