High School Baseball Team Suspends Season Due To Racism

Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach canceled the remainder of its baseball season after an investigation uncovered a culture of racism in the school’s baseball program.

Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach canceled the remainder of its baseball season after an investigation uncovered a culture of racism in the school’s baseball program. While details of what led to the investigation are still being uncovered, it is believed to have originated when a mother of a member of the team complained about her son being called racial slurs, including the N-word.

As WTKR3 reported, Principal Melissa George sent an email to parents stating that as a result of an investigation conducted by Virginia Beach City Public Schools, the school’s baseball team would be forfeiting a game on May 2, and would be attempting to determine what the baseball season, if any, would look like going forward.

“After our lengthy investigation after we received allegations of racism on the baseball team earlier in April, we have found that racism, hate speech, and harassment have been an ongoing issue for multiple years. Due to additional information we have through our investigation, at this time we are forfeiting (the May 2) game against PA (Princess Anne).”

George continued, “Working with the Senior Executive Director of High Schools, Dr. Walter Brower, the Chief of Schools, Mr. Matt Delaney, and Coach Penn, we came to the decision that we can not in good faith play baseball knowing the number of players involved. We will continue to work with VBCPS officials and school level personnel to determine what the remainder of the season will look like.”

George concluded, “Please know that this is much broader than the initial allegations brought forth and stems across multiple years. Should you have questions or concerns, you can reach out to Dr. Brower… More information will be sent out once a decision has been made.”

The allegations appear to stem from a mother of one of the players who has alleged that her son was called several racial slurs, including the N-word. She has posted several videos to her public Facebook page and is looking into getting a lawyer involved.

Another parent, Anissa Bowden believes that the problem extends well beyond the baseball program, telling the outlet, “It is traumatizing to a child who’s never had this happen before. And if it happens every single day of your life, you start thinking maybe they’re right. I will guarantee you that it’s not just an isolated incident on the baseball team.”

Virginia Beach NAACP President Dr. Eric Majette also called attention to the history of the Virginia Beach school system in his own statement. “We call attention to the ongoing acts of hate and racism within the Virginia Beach Public School System at Kempsville High School and are extremely concerned about how this situation has existed for quite sometime.”

Majette continued, “We applaud the brave young men who spoke up in an effort to advocate for equality within this system. It is unfortunate that racism still exist and that our youth have had to endure its ugly head. It must be stamped out everywhere. It is our goal to ensure that the residents do not live in fear or with undue anxiety, just because they are African American.”