Racism reared its ugly head in high school athletics again, this time through the disgusting antics of a high school baseball team.
Last week, students accused players on the varsity team at Central Catholic High School in Portland of hazing a freshman player into using a racial slur in a pre-game cheer.
After immediate pushback from students, the school forfeited games, canceled in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday and issued the following statement according to KGW8 News.
“Last week, we learned that racial hate speech was used by a member of our baseball team during a pre-game cheer,” wrote the school in a statement. “This language is offensive, harmful, and in direct conflict with who we are as a school community.”
But for students, that wasn’t enough, so they staged a walkout on Friday in protest of the incident and the school’s response.
Many of the students wanted disciplinary action against the players and coaches and also called for a revision of in the school’s student handbook to address future racist incidents.
“Our Black students are obviously mortified by this happening, but I see too many people in this school walking up to them and talking like nothing has ever happened. It’s really disgusting, to be honest, and we need to be better as a community,” said senior Jalen Jackson to KGW8.
“Our second ask is a mandatory training for coaches on anti-racism and anti-hazing,” said senior Melissa Vargas to KGW8, who also wanted the seniors involved kicked off the team. “So the coaches need to have an understanding and awareness of what this looks like on their team. And we just ask that this doesn’t happen again, and the coaches should be suspended until they become educated on this topic.”
After Friday’s student-led walkout, the school issued the following statement:
“Today’s walkout was a powerful expression of the real hurt and urgency many of our Black students and community members are carrying. We support our student’s right to express themselves. Students have raised serious concerns about potential hazing, team culture, coaching oversight, and our response as a school. We are addressing each of these concerns directly and in alignment with our current policies.
“We have taken action consistent with our current policies and are continuing to hold students accountable in ways that reflect the seriousness of this situation. We are strengthening expectations for coaching through required training and support to ensure team culture, supervision, and leadership consistent with Central Catholic’s values.
“We have engaged culturally-responsive partners to conduct a comprehensive review of our school. Their findings and recommendations will be shared with our school community, including our Black Student Union, and will directly inform the actions we take moving forward. Our focus remains on supporting students and maintaining a safe and respectful environment.”
These racist actions by students have been witnessed many times before in high school athletics.
From racist slurs and chants in basketball and football to soccer and hockey, its something many Black students and athletes are subjected to, and sometimes they go without consequences for the offender.
While it’s infuriating that these athletes have to suffer through this ignorance, it’s great to see that students are standing up and demanding accountability.
We’ll keep you updated on if the school acquiesce to their demands and/or punishes those involved.
