Players and parents from Parkway North have accused MICDS players with directing racial slurs at black players throughout a state football playoff game last Saturday.
Receiver C. J. Boone, who is coveted by the University of Missouri, said on Twitter, “The (MICDS) players used the N word the Whole game.”
Parkway North head coach Bob Bunton, whose outstanding career ended with the loss, told the Post-Dispatch that safety Jalani Williams told him MICDS players repeatedly used the N-word during the game.
Williams is one of the state’s best players, and Bunton said was compelled to speak out.
“When (the allegation of racist taunts) comes to you as a coach you don’t ignore that. I have a few of my kids telling me racial slurs were used,” he said.
Kenyatta Williams, Jalani’s mother, said “It was very disheartening to see the display of injustice that was on field from MICDS players.
“My son stated other teams have called them the N-word before, but he never felt the hate like he did at Saturday game against MICDS. I cried when he told me that.
“We must stand up for our African American young men and also for our coaches who were defending our sons because, apparently, the refs and coaches from MICDS allowed the N-word to be used without anything happening.”
Kimberly Norwood said her son reported the racial taunting, as well.
“A few players on the North team got very upset when, they say, several players on the MICDS team began calling them the N-word. This was reported to the refs who, I am told, did nothing. I was not at the game. I got a call from my child after who was clearly shaken up by the events,” she said.
Lisa Lyle, MICDS head of school, on Monday in a written statement basically called Boone and the Williams liars. MICDS investigated MICDS’ players and concluded that they did nothing wrong.
According to her statement, the investigation “include(d) interviews with individual players, who were on the field and in close proximity, staff and those who worked on the sidelines. So far, we have not found anyone who heard racist remarks.”
“If the racial slur had been used, our student athletes would have spoken up. At MICDS, we teach our students to be upstanders and not bystanders. The team values the diversity of their teammates and coaching staff. The team culture would not tolerate racist language or attitudes. The athletes are very upset by these allegations because they cannot imagine they are true.”
Are you kidding me? Here’s the investigation:
Lyle: Did any of you players use racial slurs?
Players: No ma’am.
Lyle: Did any of you coaches hear racial taunts?
Coaches: No ma’am.
Lyle: That’s good enough for me.
Wonderful.
“Of course, MICDS has already made up its mind. Fastest investigation in history and done without hearing from all sides. Unreal!,” said Norwood.
In the last 24 hours, I’ve received several emails and calls alleging all kinds of racist behavior at MICDS. Included is several players using homophobic taunts against John Burroughs openly gay star running back Jake Bain last year. If there was an investigation at MICDS, my guess it was like this year’s sham.
Last September, several female MICDS students were involved in a Snapchat conversation with liberal use of the N-Word.
The school’s response?
The Riverfront Times reported there was a Twitter comment from the MICDS account that said “School leadership is aware of the situation. You can trust that they will review it carefully and take appropriate disciplinary action.”
Oh boy. I’m shivering.
There was also a fracas after the game with coaches from both teams having to be separated.
Lyle, naturally, blamed that on Parkway North’s coaches and staff.
“In the last live-action play, one of our coaches had a verbal exchange with a Parkway North player, and it was taken as a taunt by Parkway North parents and assistant coaches.
“A referee heard the interaction between the player and the MICDS coach and told them both not to talk to each other. The interaction in no way justifies the events that followed. The Parkway North coaches caused the situation to escalate. At the conclusion of the game, tensions were heightened. Parkway North assistant coaches charged the MICDS sideline before the post-game handshake could take place, placing coaches and players in danger.
“Thankfully, members of our football staff and game administration were able to de-escalate the conflict, and everyone was able to exit the venue safely.”
So, according to Lyle, MICDS players and coaches are heroes. Never mind that a coach shouldn’t be talking to an opposing player during a game. Never mind that alleged racial taunts had already set the stage for a postgame eruption.
Let’s be honest, here. Not everyone at MICDS is white and affluent. However, most students there fit that profile. That doesn’t make them evil, but it also doesn’t excuse racist behavior.
Lyle and the MICDS investigation of the matter is a joke. It certainly isn’t funny, though.
By the way, if you’re waiting for the Missouri State High School Activities Association to take some action, don’t. It ain’t happening.
FOX in hen house
Jason Whitlock of FOX Sports, a man who always wants a spotlight on him, spoke during the Donald Trump-supported Young Black Leadership Summit in Washington last week.
He shared this incredible message to hundreds of young African Americans, many of which were sporting “Make America Great Again” hats.
“You want to be leaders and you’re black and I’m here to tell you how to do it,” the Fox Sports host told audience members according to The Washington Post.
“Disconnect from this social media garbage; disconnect from these celebrity athletes who don’t really care nothing about you.
“These athletes today who are trying to be Muhammad Ali for the most part, to me, are making fools of themselves,” he added. “Ali was not worth $500 million like LeBron James. He was not attached to a $100 million corporation like Nike.”
Then, he really got odd.
“They’re controlling our thought and policing our thought through these companies out of Silicon Valley that are imposing their values on us,” he said. “We have all of these athletes hooked up to Twitter.”
Huh?
The Reid Roundup
P.K. Subban, the NHL’s best player-of-color, comes to St. Louis with the Nashville Predators for a Thanksgiving weekend throwdown. Subban has two goals and eight assists this season. As of Tuesday, the Predators led the Central Division with an 11-3 record and 22 points. The Blues had just 11 points and find themselves in last place in the division … Willie McCovey, a Hall of Famer and social justice icon during his playing years, passed away last week … A San Francisco 49ers cheerleader took a knee during the national anthem last week. You go girl! … Patrick Mahomes tossed another three TD passes last week in the Kansas City Chiefs win over the Cleveland Browns, bring his total to 29 – with just seven interceptions … Thank you KSDK Channel 5 for again becoming “Your Chiefs station.” That was the slogan the station used during the late 1960s early 70s glory days of the Chiefs … “Shut Up and Dribble,” the LeBron James-backed documentary series made its debut on SHOWTIME last week and it is fantastic. The first episode features Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson and details how the NBA was becoming “too black” in many white fans’ eyes in 1970s. Can you say, “St. Louis Hawks?” What changed the image and saved the NBA? The historic rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The series is narrated by Jemele Hill and directed by Gotham Chopra.
Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
