It seems like racism is being incorporated into high school playbooks lately.
The latest incident occurred in Massachusetts.
At a high school football game between the Roxbury Prep Wolves and the Georgetown Middle High School Ravens on September 17th, allegations of racism led to fights and the eventual cancellation of the game.
Willie McGinnis, Roxbury’s head coach, tried to finish the game but was overwhelmed with complaints by his players that Georgetown fans were targeting them with racist taunts.
The slurs included references to monkeys according to coach McGinnis.
The complaints began in the second quarter and persisted until fights broke out in the second half.
That’s when referees had to finally call the game.
To add insult to injury, their opponents, according to McGinnis, chanted the n-word as they returned to their locker room.
McGinnis said that he complained to the referees during the game and was told they would watch out for it.
But apparently, nothing was done, which enabled the alleged harassment to continue and it eventually boiled over into physical altercations.
“We have experienced [racism at games] before, but not to this level or degree,” said McGinnis. “This was very hostile, very unsafe, and the environment was not suitable for competition.”
Georgetown Public Schools Superintendent Carol Jacobs said the school was working with local authorities to investigate the situation.
Her statement read, in part:
“Allegations of the use of racially charged language are also being investigated. I want to clearly state that the Georgetown Public Schools will not tolerate racism in any form and is working with the Georgetown Police Department to investigate this allegation. The district has reached out to the administration at Roxbury Prep Charter High School in an attempt to gather facts and resolve the issues. There are clearly strong emotions and many different versions of what happened at this game that is swirling around on social media. I ask for calm and patience as we investigate this situation and arrive at a resolution that considers all of the facts and is satisfactory to all parties involved.”
This isn’t the first racist incident affecting high school sports, nor is it the first one to happen in the state.
Last week we learned of a racist sign asking for a date to homecoming. That was preceded by anti-Semitic chants at sporting events in Tennessee and Massachusetts.
To that list add incidents involving monkey sounds made at a girl’s high school basketball game, tortillas being thrown at a Latino majority basketball team and a sports announcer caught on air using the n-word.
Georgetown fans, both in general and some claiming to have been in attendance, are defending the school and its players.
One parent told Boston.com that he was there and didn’t hear anything.
“I know a lot of the kids who go to the game; they wouldn’t say that word to an African American, and I know [many] of the people in the stands and walking the sidelines, adults — selectmen, coaches, principals, parents — if they heard any kid saying that to that team, they would have went right up to that kid and grabbed him,” said the parent.
Georgetown’s Facebook page is teeming with both accusations against and defenses for the school.
On Sunday, Georgetown issued another statement on their Facebook page.
“Public Statement- I am pleased to announce that the Georgetown Public Schools have agreed with the Roxbury Prep School to retain an independent investigator to look into the unfortunate events during the football game between our two teams on September 17th. We are committed to obtaining all the facts and will work together to do so. We will have a further announcement once an investigator is retained.”
While the investigation continues, the players are left with anger and resentment.
We will keep you updated on the situation.
