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Iowa player says Nebraska player hurled racial slurs at him

Sports

November 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa football player says a Nebraska player directed racial slurs at him as the Big Ten rivals played in Iowa City on Friday. The Des Moines Register reports Iowa defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie says he was the target of racial slurs from a Nebraska offensive lineman. Ekakitie, who is black, declined to name the player during postgame interviews Friday evening.

Asked Saturday by The Associated Press about Ekakitie’s allegation, Nebraska football spokesman Keith Mann sent a one-sentence written statement saying the Nebraska athletic department and team officials are aware of Ekakitie’s comments. Mann did not respond to follow-up questions asking whether team officials had spoken to Nebraska players about the allegations or whether Nebraska plans to investigate.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Ekakitie is a native of Brampton, Ontario, and went to high school in Lake Forest, Illinois. He finished with five tackles in Iowa’s 40-10 win over Nebraska.