Visiting spectators reportedly used racist remarks at high school basketball game in Ledyard
By EVAN SOBOL, CHRISTIAN COLÓN
Click here for updates on this story
COLCHESTER, Connecticut (WFSB) — A girls high school basketball team from Colchester is under fire after several of their fans allegedly yelled racist remarks to their opponents.
This happened Saturday night when Bacon Academy visited Ledyard High School.
As time ran out, the commotion at the school reportedly escalated.
Ledyard High School students and parents say fans from Bacon Academy behind them yelled the ‘N’ word at them after the game.
Parents now want the Colchester team to be suspended and face the consequences.
It was a scene Phyllis Walker didn’t want to be part of so she went to her car to wait for her daughter.
“She was hysterical. She was crying and trying to tell me something, but I didn’t understand her. I told her to please calm down and let me know what you are trying to say,” Walker tells us.
Nicole Walker, a senior player at Ledyard, told her mom that people visiting with Bacon Academy yelled the ‘N’ word at her team.
“What happened to us was a hate crime. When people say that word, it’s just a bad word. It’s literally a word that put black people…have used against us for years and calling us that is the most disrespectful thing you could do,” Nicole Walker explained.
Nicole says her team is still shaken.
Superintendent Jason Hartling says several adults with Bacon Academy exhibited unacceptable behaviors.
Eventually, one adult was escorted out.
“After repeated warnings, Ledyard School administration escorted one adult spectator from the facility,” Superintendent Hartling said.
In a statement, Superintendent Hartling adds: “We will continue to investigate and those identified will be notified that they are banned from facilities and are not welcome. Our children deserve so much more and we will continue to support them and work against ignorance and hate.”
“This word is hateful towards any individual. There is no ‘I’ in team. When they said that to those young ladies, it affected everyone,” says Walker.
Colchester Public Schools released a statement from Superintendent Jeff Burt. The statement is as follows:
“We are actively investigating allegations of inappropriate comments and negative behavior that reportedly occurred at the end of the girls’ basketball game between Bacon Academy and Ledyard High School Saturday night in Ledyard. I am working closely with Ledyard’s superintendent of schools and athletic department to exhaustively determine what occurred. Interscholastic sporting events are times to showcase teamwork and sportsmanship, and the Colchester Public School system has no tolerance for any abusive behavior directed at our students or students from other schools. I ask anyone with information as to what occurred Saturday night to contact me, the Ledyard superintendent or the Ledyard Police Department.”
“I’ve seen the coach do it. I’ve seen the players do it, saying blatant racist things towards us, and I have been playing on the basketball team for four years,” added Walker.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference says they have not been contacted by either schools.
School officials say there were no arrests made. Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
“We’re looking further into this matter and as of today we don’t have incident reports completed and approved,” police said.
This is not the first time Bacon Academy has been in the spotlight.
Last November, their football team was suspended, because of a Title IX investigation.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
