Utah Freshman Denies Slur at Ndiaye

The issue of race has intruded into an otherwise idyllic Final Four after a black player from North Carolina accused a white player from Utah of using a racial epithet during Saturday’s 65-59 upset victory by the Utes.

Britton Johnsen, freshman Utah forward, vehemently denied that he slurred Senegalese North Carolina center Makhtar Ndiaye, who charged that Johnsen used, “The n-word at me. He used it more than once . . . He said it to me the whole game, every time we got into contact.”

Said Johnsen, “It shouldn’t even be an issue, it did not happen. That’s it.”

Utah Coach Rick Majerus backed Johnsen, and said he would resign if the charges were true.

Ndiaye, who fouled out early in the second half, made a similar charge earlier this year, claiming that fans behind the Maryland bench directed racial slurs at him during a game at North Carolina.

However, nobody could confirm his charge, not even Maryland players who were on the bench at the time.

The problem could have stemmed from Johnsen’s inability to correctly say Ndiaye’s name, which is pronounced, “Jye.”

Even during Sunday’s news conference, he called him, among other things, “Nee-Jye.”

Ndiaye made his charge in response to a claim from Johnsen that Ndiaye spit on him while running down the court.

“I don’t think Britton would ever say anything like that,” said Andre Miller, Utah’s star guard, who is black.