Topeka High School’s team was subjected to “racial slurs, threats and disgusting taunts,” during a game on Saturday with Valley Center High School, Coach Geo Lyons said.
Two Kansas high schools are investigating after students at one school reportedly yelled racist and offensive taunts at the other school’s basketball team.
Topeka High School’s team was subjected to “racial slurs, threats and disgusting taunts,” during a game on Saturday with Valley Center High School, Coach Geo Lyons said in a Change.org petition. He also said Valley Center students used a Black baby doll to taunt his team during the game.
Lyons has started a petition asking that Valley Center High School fans be removed from sporting events.
Lyons did not return a message from The Associated Press on Tuesday. But he told KSN-TV that his son was shooting a free throw when the Valley Center student section chanted an expletive. He also alleged that racial epithets were used and his team was told they were going to be hanged.
“I had a down locker room, I’m talking about tears were flowing in that locker room,” Lyons said.
Valley Center officials issued an apology Monday to Topeka High School for “inappropriate language and behavior” by students during the game.
The district said in a statement that Topeka and Valley Center officials spent much of the weekend studying videos and interviewing people in attendance. As of Tuesday, the officials had not found evidence of specifically racist taunts but Valley Center acknowledged that students acted inappropriately.
It said students who chanted the expletive at the Topeka student were immediately removed and Valley Center officials worked to prevent any other negative interactions when the game ended.
The Black baby doll was part of a class assignment that requires students to “parent” the baby for a few days, the district said. It was not brought to the game intentionally to taunt Topeka High School but “without context, seeing the baby and images of the ‘baby’ caused hurt and concern to many, and for that we are very sorry,” the statement said.
Source: Two Kansas high schools investigate offensive chants at game
