High school girl's basketball game descends into racism as parents hurl N-word at losing team
An inter-school weekend basketball game in Connecticut has now sparked outrage and internal investigations after some spectators and parents on the stands hurled abusive and racist slurs at opposition players. The incident took place during a game between Bacon Academy in Colchester and Ledyard High School. Some spectators even started calling the teens the N-word after the match got over and as the players were heading towards their locker rooms.
This nail-biting match was conducted by Ledyard school and ended with the visiting team from Colchester beating the host team 56-55. "After the game things got hectic and out of control and Bacon Academy parents, had called the Ledyard girls an "N-word" as they were heading into the locker rooms, I was definitely shocked by what I had witnessed." witness Taylor Gunning told Fox 61. Police were called to the school, and one parent was removed from the gym, but no arrests were made at that moment.
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Ledyard player Nicole Walker says "what happened was a hate crime". She confirmed that the parent in question, who has not been named, called her and her teammates, many of whom are Black, "a bunch of N-words". Her mother told Fox 61 that after the game, her daughter emerged from the school gym in tears. "It made me feel awful inside that a group of parents, spectators from Bacon Academy, felt that it was OK to say this after they won the game," the mother said.
According to the World Report data, Bacon Academy is more than 85 percent White whereas at Ledyard High School, just under 73 percent of students are White, 10 percent are Hispanic and just under 7 percent are Black. Whilst this ongoing tussle, Colchester Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Burt released a statement, saying that an investigation into the incident has confirmed that "this behavior did take place and included racial taunts by some adults aimed at opposing youth players".
Burt paid his sincere apologies to the opposition team members and their parents, “On behalf of Bacon Academy and our community, I offer our full and sincere apology to the Ledyard High School basketball players who were the targets of this abuse, as well as their families — this behavior does not meet the standards we promote in the Colchester schools, and we must do better. This is why we are examining this incident and taking the opportunity to review and improve the climate and culture of our entire school community.”
He also stated that Bacon Academy players have been harassed on social media and that kind of conduct is not acceptable. The school has determined the athletes did not engage in taunting or racial remarks. “We ask for the online harassment of these students to end immediately,” Burt said in the statement.
Ledyard Public Schools has conducted its own investigation, which also found that several adults acted in a 'belligerent manner and others made statements of a racist nature,' reported NBC Connecticut. Ledyard Superintendent Jason Hartling said anyone identified as having taken part in the racial abuse will be banned from future school events. Meanwhile, Nicole Walker and her mother said they want the Bacon Academy players suspended.