COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A man suspected of harassing University of Utah women’s college basketball players during the NCAA tournament in March won’t face charges.
The decision not to press charges against 18-year-old Post Falls High School student Anthony Myers came from Coeur d’Alene Chief Deputy City Attorney Ryan Hunter on Monday.
After reviewing evidence, reportedly including video that captured the incident, Hunter concluded there wasn’t sufficient evidence of a crime under Idaho state law.
“Our office shares in the outrage sparked by Anthony Myers’s abhorrently racist and misogynistic statement, and we join in unequivocally condemning that statement…” Hunter wrote in a document summarizing his findings. “However, that cannot, under current law, form the basis for criminal prosecution in this case.”
The charging decision document states video surveillance captured a person shouting a racial slur and threatening a sex act against the players after the team left a local restaurant on the evening of March 21.
University of Utah booster Robert Moyer called police about the incident later that night.
A Coeur d’Alene Police Department investigation tracked the harassment down to Myers, who Hunter’s report states confessed to shouting the offensive statement and racial slur.
Hunter was tasked with determining whether Myers’ alleged conduct violated an Idaho law concerning disturbing the peace and a Coeur d’Alene city code for disorderly conduct. Hunter also assessed whether the conduct violated a state law concerning “malicious harassment.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.
