ˆFollowing No. 18 Purdue’s 88-80 road loss to Illinois on Friday night, Boilermakers star forward Trey Kaufman-Renn told reporters that his 13-year-old brother was the target of racist comments made by Illinois fans.
“I was informed after the game by my mom and my girlfriend that there were some racist comments being said toward my brother, as well as my family being cussed out and stuff like that,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I just hope that the security, especially at Illinois, could be better.”
Illinois athletics released a statement that it is aware of the situation and will continue looking into it.
“Late in tonight’s game, Illinois staff was made aware of allegations of inappropriate comments made by members of the Orange Krush (student section) toward Purdue players, coaches and fans. We received additional details after the game’s conclusion,” Illinois wrote in the statement. “We take such allegations seriously, and we will continue gathering information to determine appropriate action. In the meantime, we have been in touch with Purdue to apologize and express our disappointment.”
Purdue declined to comment on the matter.
Kaufman-Renn, a 6-9 junior from Sellersburg, Ind., led all scorers in Friday’s matchup with 29 points. It was the final regular-season game for both teams ahead of next week’s Big Ten tournament.
“In no way is (the incident) saying something about all of Illinois fans but unfortunately the students that participated in that,” Kaufman-Renn added. “The fact that my brother can be put in that situation is really unbelievable. For a league like the Big Ten, they need to be better about that.”
(Photo: Ron Johnson / Imagn Images)
