Pop Warner launches probe after racial slurs were hurled by man at coaches during youth tournament game
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: The youth football organization Pop Warner has reportedly launched a probe following a youth tournament game in Florida in which racial slurs were hurled by a man at the coaches of an opposing team.
The incident, the video of which was posted by TMZ Sports, occurred on December 3 at a hotel following a 12U quarterfinal game at the Pop Warner national championships in Orlando between the Hamden (Conn) Hurricanes and the Highlands Ranch (Col) Mountain Lions. “A video has come to our attention showing adults, reported to be associated with a Pop Warner team, using racist and threatening language toward coaches from another team,” a Pop Warner spokesman said in a statement Friday to Fox News. “The disturbing behavior shown in the video is inconsistent with our code of conduct and the expectations we have of our adult volunteers. If the panel finds that any of the adults engaging in the verbal assault are, in fact, associated with a Pop Warner team they will be subject to disciplinary action, including suspension from Pop Warner activity.”
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During the game, fans from Highlands Ranch also allegedly shouted racially charged words at players and coaches from the Hamden team, according to the TMZ report. Hamden staffers attempt to walk away from the subsequent verbal altercation at the hotel in the video but a man is shown shouting back at them the alleged slur, which was censored by TMZ.
Rocky Mountain Pop Warner president Michael Stearns denied the allegations and later told the outlet that the organization brought in a specialist to enhance the audio of the footage. He claimed that instead of using a racial slur, the man used a derogatory term for little people. “This word is equally concerning to Rocky Mountain Pop Warner as there is no place for any type of derogatory and/or harassing language to be used within Pop Warner,” Stearns said. “All matters will be reviewed and actions taken appropriately by our league.”
MEAWW previously reported that on November 23, a woman from Washington, DC, was seen screaming at her Black Uber driver using racially-charged language in an offensive incident caught on camera. The 'Karen' has since been banned from the ride-sharing app as a result of the widely shared video captured by an eyewitness at the scene. Both the driver and the passenger have remained anonymous. DC police investigated the incident, in which the passenger repeatedly called the driver a 'slave' and the N-word. Uber said that "the rider's account has been banned from the app" in a statement released on Wednesday, November 23, adding that they were already "in touch with the driver." The spectator's video was reposted on Twitter on Wednesday by a DC area community news account, and within hours, it had received more than 3 million views.
TRIGGER WARNING: Seen in Cathedral Heights, DC this morning. Apparently this man was her Uber driver and is seen getting verbally and physically assaulted by this woman. She repeatedly hurls racist slurs towards him. pic.twitter.com/u0gJhUyvK5
— Washingtonian Problems (@WashProbs) November 23, 2022