A student on a high school soccer team’s bus told teammates to “make noise if you hate” the N-word. Many of them did. On Wednesday, East Davidson High School in Thomasville, North Carolina, ended its varsity soccer season over it.
The team was 17-4 and headed for the 3A state playoffs, which start Nov. 2. It had already forfeited its final regular-season game on Oct. 26, after the video spread over the weekend. The school said the decision followed an investigation.
“The behavior depicted in the social media post is unacceptable and does not reflect the standards we uphold at East Davidson High School,” the school said. It added that cancelling the season “reflects the seriousness of the situation and our commitment to upholding the standards of conduct and accountability expected of all students.” Principal Jennifer Woodrum said school leaders “strongly condemn the behavior depicted.”
The clip, recorded on the bus after a match against Thomasville High School, as the Atlanta Black Star and local stations reported, is short. A voice invites the bus to join in, and the response is noise, not silence.
Black students at the school share hallways, locker rooms and buses with the people in that video. Reports on the incident do not say whether any individual students were disciplined, who posted the video, or what Black students on the team or at the school have said. Those answers are still missing.
Schools often answer racist incidents with a statement and a short suspension. Ending an entire season of a winning team, days before the postseason, is a heavier penalty than most districts impose, and it falls on every player, including any who did not join in.
Davidson County Schools has not said whether the decision can be appealed or whether it will review conduct on school transportation more broadly. The state playoffs open Monday without East Davidson.
Have your say