What Now?
Racism in high school sports is a pervasive issue that continues to affect student-athletes of color in communities across the country. And across the country, in our very own Yakima, Washington. Despite progress made in recent years toward greater inclusion and diversity, many young athletes continue to experience discrimination and racist attitudes from coaches, teammates, and opposing teams. This has continued to go on for quite some time now, but even more so in recent years. Affecting more than just Ike, as well as Davis, Zilla, Sunnyside, and more. Eisenhower is primarily made up of students of color, and our sports teams are also like that. Because of the dangers around racism, we have taken precautions during traveling away from home. The most precautions that have been taken place is when we travel to Moses lake.
One of the most visible forms of racism in high school sports is the use of racial slurs and epithets. This offensive language and behaviors can be heard on the playing field, in locker rooms, and in recent events, in the stands. These racist remarks can have a profound effect on the mental and emotional well-being of student-athletes, who may feel disrespected, devalued, and even traumatized by the experience. Which many of our boys on the Ike basketball team felt.
There was no place to feel safe while in the town of Moses lake. The students in the Moses Lake student section made it a very hostile environment for our boys and made our players concerned for their safety. At the start of the game, the middle of the game, and after the game, it did not stop. Homophobic slurs, racist slurs, and anything to scare the players were yelled at them. Physical violence is another way racism can manifest in high school sports.
Some student-athletes may be targeted for violent attacks because of their race, ethnicity, or national origin. These attacks can range from verbal abuse to physical assault and can have serious consequences for the victim. And although there was no physical violence taken out on our players, we still continue to worry about that while in Moses Lake. In addition to these forms of direct discrimination, many schools and sports leagues have yet to implement effective policies and training programs to address racism and discrimination. This lack of support can leave student-athletes of color feeling isolated and unsupported, as they may feel that there is no one to turn to for help.
When Ike's parents and players asked for help and begged officials to do something about the consistent harassment, the Moses Lake staff decided to ignore them. They steered their attention the other way as students and parents grew more upset, only for the Moses Lake staff to flip the image, saying that our Ike players, coaches, and parents were being “aggressive” as they pleaded for help and continued to yell. The comments did not stop at the end of the game when the clock hit zero. The Moses Lake students continued to make such remarks even as they were on their way to leave, following them everywhere until they reached the bus. Only for one bright student to come up to a player of our own, apologizing for the way his school has decided to act. And although the problems recently have been about discrimination towards our players, there are also other components of the problematic school, that is Moses lake. Moses Lake is the only school in the Big Nine League that does not provide any kind of security for your belongings while playing; they do not lock their locker rooms. As students, we have our bags that we carry alongside us when traveling. So we place our bags in the locker rooms, only to find that our stuff has been stolen.
Ike has not been the only school that has been affected by the loss of belongings. We, as athletes, are told to bring our belongings out to our bench so we can ensure that we don’t get our stuff stolen. Another subject that we are told to be aware of is to “always travel in groups” while you are in Moses Lake. This is because, in previous years, we have had students harassed while walking around the school. Most of this harassment was verbal, and most comments were discrimination because of race and gender, but a lot of instances have been when female players are walking around by themself, and a Moses lake adult and or PARENT is talking to them in sexual manners and or threatening ways. This has led to the “always use the buddy system” while in Moses Lake rule. This should not be something to worry about as high school students. The worry for our safety not only on the court but also once you step off of you.
Where do Moses Lake officials and admin draw the line? When an actual physical offense takes place? Or do we just continue to let them deteriorate the self-images of our players? This has not gone away, and it will not be buried away for us to forget about. We cannot continue to sweep away Moses Lake's faults. How do parents feel secure knowing that their child is going to a school that has a history like such? Thinking about their daughter's safety while just being a student in a school that is not civil.
How do parents 100% know that their sons will not be harassed or, unfortunately, get caught up in a fight to protect himself? This doesn't seem to go away with anything involving Moses Lake. They have continued to up their portrayal of themselves as hostile. So much so that other schools have loathed the idea of traveling to Moses Lake. Let's play fair. Let's learn to respect our competitors. So far, we have not seen general respect from Moses Lake. We are taught at a young age to have good sportsmanship, win or lose. Clearly, no one has taught the Moses Lake students, parents, or officials what it means to have good sportsmanship. Let's fix it.
