Origin of Epithet Directed at the 49ers Is Still a Mystery

New Mexico State athletic officials began an investigation Tuesday into the origin of an anti-Semitic epithet and several alleged incidents of racism apparently directed at Long Beach State before and during a Big West Conference game here Monday night.

Steve Shutt, New Mexico State assistant athletic director of media relations, said university officials questioned several school employees Tuesday morning. They hope to determine who might have had access to the visitors’ locker room at the Pan American Center, New Mexico State’s arena, where Long Beach assistant coach Jason Levy and players discovered the epithet.

The epithet appeared to be directed at Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg, who is Jewish, officials said. Officials also spoke with several people who were ejected from the arena late in the game for allegedly directing racial slurs at the 49ers.

“We have nothing solid at this point,” Shutt said. “We’ve found no one with a motive [to write the epithet] or an ax to grind, but we will continue to look into it. We will talk to everyone who comes to mind.”

As a result of the locker-room incident, Shutt said New Mexico State will increase its game-day security. Another security guard will be added to monitor the hallway outside the visitors’ locker room, providing the area with two guards.

The guards will patrol the area at least 2 1/2 hours before games, an increase from two hours. Moreover, the locker room will be carefully checked by a university employee before visiting teams are allowed to enter.

Greenberg was distraught by the message and angered by his perception that New Mexico State officials were initially somewhat aloof about his concerns. Greenberg admonished the college and its fans in a postgame tirade, in which he said his African-American players were the object of racial slurs late in the second half of the Aggies’ 76-63 victory.

With less than a minute remaining in the game, forward Brian Yankelevitz and assistant coach Matt Hart had to restrain Greenberg from confronting fans seated near the 49ers’ bench.

“I’m not going to let anyone attack my players,” Greenberg shouted in front of reporters and photographers. “What went on . . . it was sickening.

“There are more important things than a basketball game,” he said. “That’s life and being a good person. I have to go into my locker room and see a sign that says we’re going to kick your [anti-Semitic epithet].

“And I have to hear my [African American] players called the . . . word, and I have to hear my white guys be called white boys. That’s a sad commentary on life and that’s a sad commentary on this university.”

Long Beach Athletic Director Dave O’Brien spent most of Tuesday morning talking on the phone with New Mexico State officials. O’Brien and Greenberg have discussed the incident and await the investigation’s outcome.

“The incident is both shocking and appalling,” O’Brien said. “It’s unconscionable, yet the reality is that bigotry like this still exists. I’m satisfied that New Mexico State is conducting as thorough an investigation as it can.”

49er Notes

Sophomore forward Marcus Johnson, who missed two games after being suspended for violating an unspecified team rule, has been reinstated. Johnson, a 6-9 transfer from Grossmont College, is the 49ers’ leading shot-blocker with 15. . . . As expected, former UCLA center Ike Nwankwo will transfer to Long Beach. Nwankwo, a 6-11 resident of Houston, played 29 minutes with the Bruins this season. He is expected to join the 49ers as a redshirt at practice next week. He will be eligible to play next December.