Black and Latino soccer players were accosted with monkey noises, barking, and yelling during a California championship game. This behavior was condemned by the state's high-school sports governing body and the players' coach for "blatant racism."
The Northern California championship saw the jeers between Buchanan High School, Clovis, and Oak Ridge High School El Dorado Hills.
Buchanan girls soccer coach Jasara Gillette stated that the "high-pressure" game resulted in a penalty shootout. That's when heckling began to come from the stands.
"A third kicker of African American descent was subject to monkey noises, gestures, and movements from Oak Ridge as she took her penalty kick (PK). Gillette stated that the player who came before her was Hispanic and she was also yelled at."
"One individual from the Oak Ridge side was making harassing noises," El Dorado Union High School District, who oversees Oak Ridge High School, stated to NBC News in a statement.
Gillette criticised Oak Ridge High School's administration for "stooping by and doing nothing to address the issue." The stands were not cleared and no fan was taken out.
Oak Ridge officials could not be reached Tuesday for comment. However, the principal of the school told NBC affiliate KCRA in Sacramento, California that it was difficult to determine who made the sound at the moment. The matter was then discussed by the referees (a California Interscholastic Federation administrator and representatives from both schools). The principal, Aaron Palm, stated that they decided to continue with the game.
Oak Ridge won the championship .
"Our players were emotionally and physically upset following the incident, and they were not treated." Gillette stated that this gave us a significant competitive advantage and directly affected the outcome of the game.
Palm said that the student who heckled him "is being held responsible" and added that the incident "disgusts our learning community & embarrasses the entire school." This type of behavior is unacceptable in any society.
Officials have yet to disclose the punishment that the student will receive, but El Dorado Union High school District stated that "the school will take all disciplinary action allowed by Education Code."
According to the district, Oak Ridge High School officials have been in touch with Buchanan High School's CIF, which is the state's governing body for high-school sports, and "formal apologies" are being offered.
The district will also discuss the incident in "each Oak Ridge class this week" in order to "take steps towards further preventing incidents like these from happening."
Clovis Unified School district, which manages Buchanan High School said it was "outraged" by racial slurs being used by Oak Ridge High School fans. A complaint was filed with CIF.
Tuesday's attempts to reach Buchanan High School officials were unsuccessful.
CIF condemned the heckling and stated in a statement that it "prohibits any act that is disrespectful or demeaning towards a member school or student-athlete or school community."
The governing body stated that it was unacceptable for students to be deprived of all the hard work they have done to compete in championship events.
CIF did not say whether it planned to take any actions in the statement.
