A New Jersey high school basketball crowd has been caught on camera making racist taunts in a scandal that has roiled the community.
Video obtained by NJ Advance Media depicts several instances of the Jefferson High School crowd chanting “ashy knees” when an African-American player from local rival Dover High School stepped to the free-throw line during last Friday’s game. One area would shout “ashy” and another would follow responsively with “knees.” Peals of laughter also are heard in the video.
Dover superintendent Robert Becker said in a statement that Jefferson students also had chanted “build the wall,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall at the Mexican border.
Jefferson superintendent Patrick Tierney brought the incident to light when he apologized for students “allegedly [making] racist and/or offensive statements directed at the Dover athletes.” Jefferson won the game, 69-41.
The theme of the game for Jefferson was American pride, and several fans are seen in the video wearing clothes featuring the American flag. Michael Moore, a parent of a Dover player, told the New Jersey publication he felt the crowd’s aim was to insult Dover, a town that has a large Hispanic and African-American population.
“Their intent was disrespect,” he said. “Not to promote the country as a whole.”
Tierney, the Jefferson superintendent, said the American theme was chosen by the student body weeks before the game, which initially was supposed to be against Mountain Lakes — a majority white town.
Tierney also said the taunting was not one-sided. He said two Dover parents made inflammatory remarks to a Jefferson student wearing a Trump shirt. Tierney said that student was the only one who shouted “build the wall.” Tierney said there has been no student discipline administered, though an investigation is ongoing.
“I’m not excusing the comments or behavior of my children,” he said. “In my experience, kids who show up to cheer on games aren’t bad kids. These kids have school spirit, and they got caught up in the moment and they said something stupid.”
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
