After undisclosed acts of football team racism toward Black members of the team, Tamalpais High School has put the whole football program on probation, and will forfeit all of the team’s remaining games if there’s another incident.
The Marin Independent Journal reported Wednesday morning that the Tamalpais High School football team has been put on probation over racist incidents where players targeted a Black teammate. The incidents are not described in detail in that report, with the Independent Journal merely saying these were “two incidents occurred involving racist speech made toward, and about, a Black teammate.”
But the probation means that if school officials learn of another such incident, they will force the football team to forfeit all of its remaining games.
“I am appalled that this has happened twice on the football team,” Tamalpais Union High School District assistant district superintendent Kelly Lara wote in an October 25 letter to the parents of Tam High football players. “This is unacceptable. It is deeply hurtful to the targeted teammate and to all Black teammates. The ripple of harm is not limited to the Football team; this also hurts the wider Tam High community of Black students, staff, and families.”
District officials note that additional disciplinary action was taken, but did not disclose this for the privacy of the students involved. The district’s superintendent noted that suspension and/or expulsion are options for students violating such codes of conduct.
This comes barely a year after Tamalpais High School was rocked by students widely sharing a video with a racial slur, and a series of apparently racially charged fights on campus that may or may not have been related to that video.
“The district is charting a path of ‘belonging’ for all students and there is no room to mistreat others based on their racial identity, gender, economic status, or individual preference,” newly elected Tamalpais Union School District school board member Ida Times-Green said in an email to the Independent Journal. “Certainly racist acts should never manifest on educational institutions and especially among organized sports. Organized sports is a time for students to build camaraderie, character, friendships and pride.”
Related: NAACP Holds Meeting With Black Families About Alleged Racist Incidents at SF Public Schools [SFist]
Image: Tamalpais High School via Facebook
