MACON, Ga. — A local school superintendent says his students said they never used racial slurs directed at black players during a high school playoff soccer match, but parents and players say that’s not true.
Parents of the Paideia School complained about the alleged slurs after one of their players was ruled ineligible for the school’s championship game because of how he responded to the slurs.
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But Floyd County School Superintendent Glenn White said there is no evidence there was any racism during the match.
Students showed up in T-shirts in support of the player who was sidelined at the championship game in Macon.
One of the parents, Tia Alvarez-Stith, said the work that athletes put in to play a championship game is huge.
“It’s a huge experience,” said Alvarez-Stith.
She and other Paideia School parents say one of their players ruled ineligible for the big game should be on the field helping his team instead of sitting in the stands cheering them on. Alvarez-Stith says unequal justice is why he is sidelined.
“It’s disappointing. It’s frustrating and I am ashamed that in 2023 we still have to deal with this type of treatment,” she said.
It all started Friday during a soccer match between Paideia and Armuchee High School out of Rome, Georgia.
Parents say the Paideia players complained to game officials Armuchee players kept calling them the N-word. Video shows the player even talking to an officer on the field.
Alvarez-Stith says her son who plays for the team was also a victim and he was confused after the game.
“He talked about being repeatedly called the N-word,” she said.
Parents say game officials didn’t punish the offending players. The player who went to the official complaining about the slurs scored a goal. Then, he raced to the Armuchee bench and pointed at them and he was ejected for taunting.
That meant he couldn’t play in the championship game.
One parent couldn’t understand why officials didn’t follow the rules and immediately eject the Armuchee player.
“Had the racial slurs been addressed with the appropriate level of discipline at the time you would not have seen that response from our player,” Dave Lowance said.
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Floyd County Superintendent Glenn White called Channel 2′s Tom Jones and was emphatic that his players never used racial slurs. White said that was determined after an internal investigation.
White also said records indicate the Georgia High School Association interviewed the four referees and all said they didn’t hear any slurs.
A spokesperson with Floyd County Schools released a statement to Channel 2 Action News regarding Friday’s game:
“As a community and district, Floyd County Schools (FCS) is committed to an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment where all students can succeed. FCS Student Code of Conduct establishes that students demonstrate courtesy and respect for others. FCS does not condone the use of racial language or harassment of any kind.
After filing an Open Records Request with the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), FCS officials actively investigated claims against the Armuchee High School (AHS) boy’s soccer team with the cooperation of the GHSA office and the GHSA officials who presided over Friday’s game versus The Paideia School (TPS).
Admittedly, the game was, at times, very intense and physical. Following the end of the contest, AHS administration was made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by the AHS boy’s soccer team, and in turn, immediately launched an internal investigation. They did not discover any evidence to support the allegations. On Monday, TPS filed a formal complaint with the GHSA regarding taunting and the use of racial slurs. GHSA officials interviewed the four-game referees who testified that they did not hear the use of racial slurs by either team.
Both teams had a player who was given a red card. The TPS player was red-carded for taunting. The AHS player was red-carded after receiving two yellow cards: one for unsporting behavior and the other for dissent. Per GHSA rules, both of those players are required to sit out for upcoming scheduled contests and must complete the NFHS Sportsmanship Course. The individual schools are to verify that the student-athletes complete the course and may incur a fine. Per the GHSA constitution, ejections are based on judgment calls by a contest official and are not reviewable or reversible.
Again, FCS does not condone the use of racial language or harassment of any kind. All student-athletes serve as role models in their communities and are held to a higher standard of conduct.”
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But Channel 2 Action News watched a video of the game and noticed a Paideia player on the field complain about the slurs after his teammate was ejected.
“But they called him the N-word three times,” he said in response to the ejection.
Students wanted to show support for their classmate who couldn’t play in the big game and also send a message about racism. So, they wore t-shirts to the game that said no room for racism.
We reached out to the Georgia High School Association for a comment about all of this, but it has not responded.
Superintendent White says one of his players was also ejected from last Friday’s game. He says it wasn’t because of racial slurs, but something called dissent and unsporting behavior.
Paideia won the game after three overtimes.
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