Racism has been a part of sports since forever, sadly affecting athletes at all levels. A few weeks ago we learned about a Massachusetts high school football team using anti-Semitic audibles in a game. Now we have a Black football player who was threatened by teammates and humiliated with bananas.
The young boy, a player from Moline High School in Illinois, was shown on video being threatened with having his knees broken unless he sat in a chair placed in a locker with hanging bananas. While in the chair, others could be heard laughing in the video.
According to the Quad City Times, police officials investigated the incident and discussed their findings.
“Detectives have identified all the athletes who were involved in the incident and the circumstances surrounding the video. Those involved are fellow high school football teammates,” said Moline Police Chief Darren Gault. “They are also individuals of both different and similar races to the victim. The students directly involved in the video are all friends.
“Regardless of these facts, we all agree that this is a disgusting way to treat a fellow teammate, a fellow human being and most certainly a friend,” said Gault.
Gault is absolutely correct in his description of the incident. Some might call it harmless hazing. Others might excuse it because there were, according to Gault, other Black students in the video.
But guess what.
That was not hazing and hazing is never harmless.
And regardless of the melanin in the room, there is no excuse, especially not after everything that we have witnessed in recent years.
Especially not after the murders of George Floyd and Daunte Wright.
And definitely not after another recent incident in which students at a high school in Aledo, Texas held a slave auction on Snapchat where they discussed how much they would pay for buying and selling various Black students.
There is no excuse. Period, end of story.
Symbols and Cycles
White people know what bananas symbolize when used against Black people. It sounds silly, but bananas are weaponized by racists to humiliate, denigrate and dehumanize Black people.
And for the Black kids in the video who did nothing to stop the humiliation, or even worse, who encouraged it by laughing, they should be punished even more severely by their parents.
That they could laugh at and do nothing to stop this vile incident is disheartening and even more infuriating. Don’t try the excuse that it meant nothing, or “we had to go through it too”. That’s not a badge of honor, nor should it be a repetitive cycle.
No Black child should ever be subjected to that behavior. And no Black child should remain idle if they witness that behavior.
“We all agree that regardless if the students viewed this as a joke, it is unacceptable behavior,” Gault said. “This is a teaching moment for everyone and a reminder that we can do better. We can treat people better. We can be better friends. We can be better teammates. We can be better people. We can also stand up and confront situations when they are wrong. In doing so we can raise our morals and increase the respect we have for each other.”
Stand up and confront situations is exactly right. And parents need to teach their children to do the same, especially Black and Brown parents. If that means challenging your teammates, so be it. Step up and step in. You’d throw a block for them on the gridiron, so do it on the field of life too. Some might lack the confidence to defend themselves, so others must step up for them.
The nameless victim in this racist incident expressed his feelings on the matter, and they were both heartbreaking and infuriating.
“I want to make it known that I’m fine,” he said. “Everyone is worried about me and showing concern for me, and I really appreciate it. Second, can everyone please stop talking about the incident and video? I understand everyone wants justice for me and they want what they think is right to be done, but I already made my feelings known to the police and my friends about how I feel about everything.
“I love the football team I’m on, and they’re good guys,” he continued. “I know that personally. I talked to the people involved individually, and they apologized. We had a heartfelt talk about it, and I told them how I felt. So please don’t harass, bully, or threaten them at all. Lastly, I want to get my life back together, and my student-athlete life back on track, so if you do ever see me or know who I am, treat me as a human first, not a victim.”
Young man, you are a victim; you just don’t realize it, and that’s the worst part.
I understand you don’t want to be perceived that way and don’t want the matter to be pursued any further.
But you are a victim of racism. You are a victim of bullying. You are the target of a vicious cycle that persists because society has excused it as “youthful ignorance” for too long. That’s how perpetrators of these incidents escape relatively unscathed. Victims just want it to disappear, so they shy away from the spotlight and the fight for justice. I understand the rationale and feeling. Yet that’s what they prey and bank on.
That’s how they avoid punishment and that’s how they’re enabled to do it again.
So Now What?
So now we’re left hurting once more.
Another heartbreaking incident piled on top of the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of officer Kim Potter and a digital slave auction. While this event didn’t result in death, it still resulted in loss. Loss of self, understanding, brotherhood, and confidence. It also signaled that we as parents need to teach our children additional lessons that can’t be learned through books.
This sentiment is echoed by many in Moline, IL.
“I speak from the heart when I say we have a responsibility to teach them a better way,” said Mayor-elect Sangeetha Rayapati. “It’s awful to know a child was treated that way. It’s awful to know that that child will be marked forever by the incident and the disrespect they received. And it’s awful to know other children would see this as a joke.”
This is definitely not a joke. Nor should it be taken lightly regardless of how the victim feels. For while the incident might fade from the headlines, it will follow this young man internally and eventually manifest itself physically.
Hopefully it won’t result in having his name added to yet another t-shirt and cry for justice.
