Utes Football Coach Suspended Following Former Player’s Revelation

A former University of Utah football player is making national headlines for his recent revelation that one Utes coach allegedly used racial rhetoric.

Ryan Lacy, once a full-scholarship player for the Utes, said on Twitter that during a 2008 practice, coach Morgan Scalley made the following comment before running away:

“What is up my n—–? Where is the crack pipe at my n—–?”

In a recent interview with KCRA-3, Lacy said he, then an 18-year-old, and his Utes teammates were shocked, but he continued playing as a receiver and defensive back until he graduated in 2013.

“We were upset, but we didn’t say anything because, at that time, I didn’t know if I went out and said anything I would never get to play,” Lacy told KCRA-3. “I was a young kid at a prestigious university. Sometimes, it’s just time to speak up about things like that that you hold on to for a long time.”

Since sharing the story on social media, Lacy said he and his family have received death threats.

While an investigation of Scalley’s misconduct was published last week, with Scalley denying the claims, it found that the coach “inadvertently texted a racial slur to a recruit in 2013 while exchanging texts with another coach.”

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The university released a statement last week saying that while Scalley will keep his job after his suspension, he’ll have to partake in ongoing diversity and inclusion education, will not get his expected pay increase, and will no longer be considered the head coach-in-waiting.

“I am extremely sorry. First and foremost, let me be clear, I am against racism of any kind and I’m determined to take an active role at the university and in my community in being part of the solution and change. I want to apologize to the young men I have coached and am coaching currently,” Scalley said during a teleconference last week.

To read the full story on the University of Utah coach suspended for his racist rhetoric from KCRA-3, click here.