AG, commish launch effort to take on school-sport bias
After several high-profile instances of bias and hate rocked the world of high school sports in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey joined a group of interdisciplinary sports and education leaders to change the culture.
“Sports can be an incredibly powerful tool for bringing people together, for bridging the divide that we see too often in communities,” Healey, a former Harvard basketball player, said. “In recent months, we have seen an infection of bias and hate make its way into places it should not be — bullying of fellow students, inappropriate hazing of teammates, racist antisemitic graffiti, or language directed at peers.”
One of the most notable incidents occurred in Duxbury, where football players used antisemitic language to describe the football plays as far back as 2010, as the Herald previously reported. In March 2021, a Duxbury offensive lineman called out “Auschwitz,” or the name of a Holocaust-era concentration camp, to refer to a blocking scheme for a play. The team’s coach has since been fired.
Another incident of bias rocked Georgetown High School, after a fight broke out during a September football game against Roxbury Prep, prematurely ending the game. Roxbury Assistant Coach Jamaal Hunt posted a message on Facebook stating his players and staff “were ridiculed, called N bombs by players, faculty, staff, spectators and were taunted all night.” Racist, homophobic and antisemitic incidents at Danvers High School are also under investigation by Healey’s office.
The initiative, formulated by Healey, Department of Elementary & Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association, has several components to address this epidemic.
The group plans to hold an in-person conference in late August or early September aimed at school administrators, athletic directors, coaches, referees and other school leaders to share best practices for building positive environments and tackling hate in sports.
They also plan to host 12 regional training sessions across the state for school and athletic leadership conducted by the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University.
Anais Killian, a student athlete at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, challenged adults to support students in eradicating bias by being “actively involved in creating spaces that empower student athletes and provide for educational support,” she said.
“Good environments … on sports teams must be motivated by team efforts, persistence and student collaboration,” she said. “And it is critical that adults can provide spaces for the support.”