The game clock has run out on racism
The game clock was about to expire and both high school football teams were looking to get out of dodge and call it a day.
The year was 2016. Team A was leading by four or five touchdowns. It was late in the season. Team B had won one game all season and had no chance up against Team A, which was vying for a league title and a high seed in the District 1 playoffs.
Team A’s second-and thirdstring players were in the game at this point. That’s when I heard one player on Team A — a sophomore with very little social conscience — mutter something under his breath at a player on Team B, who was black. During the play the two players were engaged, blocking and pushing each other off the ball. Harmless stuff, really, but tempers flared a bit.
In a fit of rage the player on Team A called the player on Team B the N-word.
“What was that?” the black player asked the white player, who at this point had turned his back and was walking back to his sideline. To his credit, the victim quickly collected himself, motioned “whatever” with his hands, and rejoined his teammates on the opposite sideline.
After the game ended, I debated whether I should tell someone — in particular, the head coach — about what I had heard. Instead, I did nothing. I chewed on it for days, but I told myself that I didn’t want to make it a big deal, which was wrong. It was a very big deal back then as it is today. This is an incident that I have thought about quite often over the last week or so as our country protests racism and police brutality in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. It’s personal experiences such as this one that make you question your morals and whether you are at fault for remaining silent.
Maybe I’m optimistic that change can be made at all levels of society. I know for sure I want to see racism addressed more in Delaware County and diversity embraced. Having these conversations, instead of pushing them under the rug, is going to make us better.
Would it have made any difference had I said something to a coach or parent? In hindsight, probably, yes. Perhaps the player who uttered the racial slur would have been suspended or told not to dress for the following week’s game. But would that have been enough punishment? I hope the young man would have educated himself on the struggles of African-Americans. And maybe he would have reached out to the black player and offered his apology. I’ll never know because I never spoke up.
Later that same year, while covering another football game, I overheard adults standing on the sideline — who were not coaches or in any way affiliated with the football team — talking about how the opposite team, a team of predominantly black players.
They referred to that team as a bunch of “thugs.” I was appalled. This time, I did speak up and even had conversations with two people in positions of authority at the school district who investigated the matter. I didn’t know the names of the offenders and I wasn’t looking to get anyone in serious trouble. It was my word against theirs, anyhow. I was comforted in knowing that, at the very least, the school district chose to act.
We are told to believe in the unifying power of sports. While diversity is growing in our high schools, we remain exposed to racism. To say it’s not impacting our youth is foolish. Yes, the story I told is an isolated incident and for the most part high school sports does unify and cross all color boundaries. That’s a beautiful thing. The majority of coaches I have dealt with over the years are men and women of strong moral character who have no tolerance for racism.
It’s OK to”call out” hate when we see it. Let’s hope that when
(if?) high school sports resume this fall, we are more accepting of our differences, we are more willing to listen and more willing to understand why we protest and why we speak out against racism. If we learn anything, let it be that racism is not some disputatious subject we shouldn’t touch. And we need to encourage our young people to do better, no matter how young or ignorant to the truth, and to love and to accept everyone in all walks of life.
And if none of the above resonates with you, then check out the statement the Bonner-Prendergast football team released on its Twitter account this weekend. Here it is in its entirety, because it deserves to be seen:
“We are proud of our Friars players and coaches. We ensured that everyone is safe, secure and not in need of anything. We met and talked all week. But more than talking many of us listened. Our black coaches and players took the lead and described to their white brothers what they needed from them at this time and for the future. We need to be comfortable having uncomfortable conversations.
“We clearly understand that we need to LISTEN, HEAR and SUPPORT our black brothers in this ongoing fight of injustice and inequality. We need to channel the energy and inertia of this time to enact change ... and we need to support this change today, next week, next year, and forever.
“Our Friar brotherhood is only real if it includes all. We are a diverse group that will continue to use our faith to lead the way in how we treat all people with the dignity and respect that they deserve.
“We will always rally to the support of any of our brothers in need. We stand united in our brotherhood. If not me, then who.”
We should all take a page from the Bonner-Prendergast handbook.