Students at a Utah high school have made headlines again for using derogatory racial slurs toward students from other schools during sporting events. Last year, during a basketball game, students at Roy High taunted those from Hunter High for being Asian American, using terms like “dog eaters,” among other slurs, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. While some students feared coming back to Roy High School for another game for this very reason, parents, couches, and administrators from both schools assured them it wouldn’t happen again—but it did.
Not only could barking be heard from the Roy High side of the gym, but voices screaming, “Go home and eat more rice.” Video footage supported at least one student's experience during the game, where he and other Asian American and Polynesian players were taunted.
In addition to the Asian American and Polynesian players being teased, some parents said that the Latino students on the team were also being referred to by stereotypical names such as “José.”
“This should not be happening,” Mandee Cossa, a biracial player’s mom, told the Tribune. “It’s completely unacceptable.”
According to Cossa, a Hunter High parent went up to an administrator of Roy High during the game to report the taunting and try to stop it. The administrator claimed he had heard nothing, and did nothing to stop it.
Another parent reiterated the same thing, sharing that they, too, emailed Roy officials, including the principal, who replied that they hadn’t heard the negative language being used.
“It’s horrible,” said Nichol Holdaway, another Hunter High player parent. “I can’t believe that any part of that was OK with any of the administrators. We know what we heard.”
According to a spokesperson for Weber School District, Lane Findlay, the barking was stopped after administrators spoke to a Hunter coach.
Findlay noted that while investigations are taking place, the school district doesn't believe the incident was racially motivated.
“This is something that has occurred regularly at games,” Findlay said, according to the Tribune. “It’s been common for the student section to do this throughout a game, and it doesn’t appear to be something that is used to target a specific player based on their race, rather it’s more situational as far as what’s going on during the game (e.g., free-throw shooting, in-bounds pass).”
To think that taunting students is seen as a norm at a school, that too by a school district is disturbing. Just because something is common for students to do does not make it okay. Additionally, yelling things like ‘eat rice’ and ‘dog eaters’ is clearly targeted and intentional towards the students as they identify as Asian American and these slurs are based off of stereotypes against the race.
“It definitely wasn’t happening to all players. The barking was at the Asian American players,” Holdaway noted.
Given the context of the slurs, the racism is undeniable but Findlay and others maintain that no racial slurs were heard by nor brought to the attention of administrators, despite parents saying they reported the incident.
Some of the parents also showed copies of emails to The Tribune that they’d sent following that match to the Utah High School Activities Association, or UHSAA, which oversees high school sports in the state.
“The coaches are reporting it, and parents are reporting it and nothing is happening,” Halli, the parent of a Polynesian student, said. “They’re acting like we’re making this up. I don’t get it. Why would we do that? Our kids are being hurt.”
Halli’s son was barked at during the game when Hunter High lost. But that’s not all students also allegedly mocked a ceremonial dance when hearing the child’s name.
“That’s a sacred practice to us,” Halli said. “That’s just not OK.”
Sadly, this isn’t the old case of racism against basketball students to be reported this week.
A Wendy's manager in Connecticut was arrested after allegedly harassing a high school basketball team with racial slurs and denying them service on Thursday, WTNH News 8 reported.
“When the manager was questioned as to why service was being refused, he verbally assaulted our coaches, Donte Adams and Denzel Washington, with expletives and racial slurs,” Woodstock Academy said in a statement.
Identified as 22-year-old Brett White, the manager admitted using racial slurs to the police and was charged with second-degree breach of peace.
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