A Virginia middle school suspended its football team’s season after video emerged of some white players pinning down black players and simulating sex acts while shouting racially charged comments.
The clip, which was posted on Snapchat, was filmed in the locker room of Short Pump Middle School in Henrico and showed the white athletes leaning over the black players on a bench and on the floor while shouting in their faces.
The video, which was shot on October 13, starts off with text that reads: ‘Ever wonder what happens in a football locker room?’
‘What’s up with you and the blacks?’ one student can be heard saying in the clip.
Another comments: ‘We gonna f*** the black outta these African-American children from Uganda.’
Short Pump Middle School in Henrico, Virginia, suspended its football team’s season after Snapchat video emerged of some white players pinning down black players and simulating sex acts while shouting racially charged comments (pictured)
The video, which was filmed on October 13 in the locker room, shows the white athletes leaning the black players over a bench and shouting comments such as: ‘We gonna f*** the black outta these African-American children from Uganda’ (pictured)
The team had three games remaining on its schedule, but they will be forfeited. Players will still meet at practice times, but will be participating in mandatory discussions on racial intolerance, ethics and accountability.
In an open letter, Principal Thomas McAuley called the white students’ actions ‘appalling, disturbing and inexcusable’, adding that actions will be taken to address the incident and prevent a similar one from happening again.
The letter continues: ‘We will include staff, parent, administrator and student representatives in this dialogue. Our hope is to use this very unfortunate event as a meaningful learning opportunity.’
An unidentified school staff member told NBC 12 that such an incident should never have been allowed to occur.
‘Every time there’s boys in the locker room, there’s always an adult in the locker room. That’s a requirement,’ the staff member said.
Henrico police are currently investigating the video. However, school officials said in the letter they’ve been aware of the video since Monday, leading many to wonder why a response took so long.
Three more games had been scheduled for the team, but they will be forfeited. Players will still meet at practice times, but will be participating in mandatory discussions on racial intolerance, ethics and accountability
Principal Thomas McAuley called the white students’ actions ‘appalling, disturbing and inexcusable’, adding that actions will be taken to address the incident and prevent a similar one from happening again (Pictured, Short Pump Middle School)
A parent of one of the students involved told NBC 12 she’s sad her child had to experience this.
‘You see the kids asking to get up and to stop and screaming,’ said the parent, who asked to not be identified to protect her son.
‘Racism should not be tolerated…You should be able to send your kids to school and feel they are being protected and safe.’