After Reports Of Racist Taunts At High School Games, Minnesota League Lays Out Steps To Better Protect Students
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Following recent accusations of racist taunts at high school sports games, the Minnesota State High School League says that educators across the state have "more work to do" in keeping students safe from harassment and listed a series of steps it will take to protect students.
In a statement Thursday, the league said that "[m]istreatment of anyone on any basis is not only intolerable, it is something we, as educational leaders, unequivocally condemn. Racial, religious, or sexual harassment is simply unacceptable in our schools."
In order to protect students, the league said that a number of educational organizations will work together to improve behavior at schools and at high school sporting events. To achieve this, the league and organizations hope to develop of model code of conduct for all schools, which will apply across the state and include not only students and educators, but spectators and parents.
In the meantime, the league says that students found to be in violation of the current policy prohibiting harassment will no longer get eligible to participate in sports.
This response from the league comes roughly a week after two incidents where student-athletes were reportedly subjected to racist taunts from the audience while playing at New Prague High School. Officials from the Robbinsdale Cooper girls basketball team and the St. Louis Park boys hockey team said their players were the targets of racist jeers while competing at the south metro high school.
As a result, Robbinsdale Area Public Schools said that its entire district won't compete with New Prague "for the foreseeable future." David Engstrom, the district's superintendent, specifically called for the Minnesota State High School League to take the situation seriously. Likewise, the athletic director at St. Louis Park High School said it won't play at New Prague until the harm has been repaired and the situation addressed to the school's liking.
In response to the allegations, Tim Dittberner, the superintendent of the New Prague district, said that the school does not tolerate hate speech by students or players. He added that at least one of the incidents was "dealt with immediately" and that the district is "taking steps to work with our athletes, student body, staff and coaches so these types of incidents do not happen in the future." He promised more details on those steps in the coming days.
Earlier this week, WCCO-TV spoke with a woman who says racially-charged bullying is happening inside New Prague High School. She showed reporter Erin Hassanzadeh social media messages sent to a Black student where his classmates repeatedly use racial slurs. One video taken inside the school showed a student wearing the Confederate flag.