Distressing video shows California school team members holding mock 'slave auction' of Black teammates

The high school students were seen yelling at three Black teammates who were only in their underwear

UPDATED OCT 5, 2022

A group of California high school players held a mock slave auctionwith their Black teammates and have now been suspended (alwaysgabe/Tiktok)

YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA: A video showing a group from a California high school football team conducting a pretend slave sale with some of their Black teammates led to the cancellation of the remainder of the team's season. According to The Daily Mail, The horrifying video shows members of the River Valley High School football team in Yuba City doing the frat-boy-like locker room act, which had three Black squad members in only their underwear being yelled at by their teammates.

Superintendent of the Yuba City Unified School District Doreen Osumi referred to the boys' actions as "deeply offensive and disgraceful" in a written statement to CNN. "The recording clearly demonstrates that this situation was orchestrated and organized, which underscores my concern that students spent time contemplating this terrible act without the slightest regard that this action is hateful and hurtful," she stated.

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California high school players hold mock slave auction. (Photo via @alwaysgabe/Tiktok) — California high school players hold a mock slave auction with Black teammates (alwaysgabe/Tiktok)

"They may have thought this skit was funny but it is not; it is unacceptable and requires us to look honestly and deeply at issues of systemic racism. Re-enacting a slave sale as a prank tells us that we have a great deal of work to do with our students so they can distinguish between intent and impact. When students find humor in something that is so deeply offensive, it tells me that we have an opportunity to help them expand their mindset to be more aware, thoughtful and considerate of others," she added.

For breaking the school's student-athlete code of conduct, the team members shown in the "unfortunate and terribly disturbing event" video were immediately suspended for the rest of the year. They may also face further disciplinary action. Due to the players' suspensions, the football team is now unable to play in its league and has been forced to give up the remaining games of the season. The school would seek to establish "education, honest, open debates, and instruction" regarding racism, Osumi continued. ''At this time, the District and site administration are working in earnest to identify lessons and programs to help our student body learn from this situation,'' she said. Sacramento, the state's capital, is around 45 minutes away from Yuba City, California.

The boys' decision to put the footage online has been greeted with astonishment in the comments section of the team's Instagram video. "Even if they were joking like wtf made them think it was going to go any other way when they posted it," a user wrote. "It's weird that the black guys would even entertain that," another added. "I'm just trying [to] figure out what made them young brothers participate in this offensive disrespectful behavior," a third expressed.

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