A pair of alleged racist incidents involving two Chicago-area high schools occurred over the Labor Day weekend.
During Homewood-Flossmoor's homecoming game on Friday, Sept. 4, against Lincoln-Way East in Floosmoor, Illinois — 24 miles southeast of Chicago, IL — five students in the Lincoln-Way East student section were removed in the third quarter by police officers.
"On Friday, September 4th, at the end of the third quarter during the Varsity Football Game against Lincoln Way-East HS, 5 Lincoln-Way East student fans made a very bad choice to engage in disrespectful and racist harassment towards HF students seated in the bleachers. We want to commend our staff, who acted swiftly and safely removed those individuals from our property and helped
our students remain in the bleachers and safe," Homewood-Flossmoor High School wrote in a Facebook post.
"Currently, HF leadership and Board of Education are working with Lincoln-Way East leadership and local authorities as we consider all options to protect against this in the future, including legal options. We will communicate with our entire student body next week about what occurred and offer guidance on how to navigate our feelings from this type of offense."
USA TODAY Sports has reached out to both schools, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
In a statement on Facebook, Lincoln-Way East also acknowledged the incident.
"We are aware that a group of five Lincoln-Way East students displayed inappropriate and offensive behavior at the football game against Homewood-Flossmoor on Friday night. The students involved are not members of the football team," the Facebook statement read.
"We would like to sincerely apologize to the HF community for the behavior displayed by these students. This behavior does not reflect the expectations and standards we have for Lincoln-Way students. The district is taking this matter seriously. We have identified the students involved and will follow through with the district’s discipline policies and procedures to the fullest extent.
"Because this matter involves students, we cannot disclose the names of those involved or the disciplinary action that is to be taken."
According to Matt Troha, the assistant director of the IHSA, "incidents with fans are typically handled by the school under their code of conduct."
"The IHSA strongly condemns the racist actions that were perpetrated by a small number of Lincoln-Way East High School students in attendance at its football game against Homewood-Flossmoor High School on September 4," IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said on Sept. 4.
"High school sports are defined by community and camaraderie, and every high school student-athlete in Illinois deserves to compete in a safe and respectful environment. These values are requisite to remain a member in good standing of the IHSA, and the Lincoln-Way East administration has affirmed that they recognize the serious nature of this situation and are acting accordingly. We will be working with both schools to make sure an appropriate resolution is reached and to be a resource in any way that we can.”
The IHSA would only step in if the school was not taking the matter seriously, which Troha said Lincoln-Way East's administration was.
However, the next day, Homewood-Flossmoor students reported a second incident involving racism that occurred between the two schools on Saturday, Sept. 5, during a girls cross country meet.
Homewood-Flossmoor said that athletes and coaches returned to campus after the meet and detailed an incident that involved LWE making comments about the Homewood-Flossmoor athletes.
"Our athletes gave written statements that described what occurred while they were in the HF box before the start of the Varsity race on Saturday," Homewood-Flossmoor wrote in a second Facebook post. "Three HF athletes shared a description (student statements attached) of one of the LWE coaches making comments about running “past those monkeys” to the LWE team in the starting box directly adjacent. The athletes then reported that some of the team began cheering and making “noises that were racist” and “monkey gestures.” Upon their return and receiving the written statements, we notified LWE leadership."
Homewood-Floosmoor said it planned to pursue legal action on both occurrences.
"To our students … we are with you. You did not deserve this. Your school community will not allow these racist, hateful acts to go unanswered. Thank you for your composure, restraint and resilience as we sort through this unfortunate situation. We will continue to give you a voice, and through you, we will strengthen our school community in the face of this hate, and make it even better. And we will protect your rights to the fullest extent allowed by the law," Homewood-Flossmoor wrote in a third Facebook post.
Because the second incident involved coaches within an event, the IHSA's Hate Speech & Harassment Policy kicks in and then the association will be directly involved.
“The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) received a report this morning (September 8) from Homewood-Flossmoor High School, detailing that their student-athletes had been subjected to unacceptable words and actions by athletes and coaches from another IHSA member high school at a cross country meet on September 5," Anderson said in a statement on Sept. 8. "High school sports are an extension of the classroom and every high school student-athlete in Illinois should be provided the opportunity to compete in a safe space. Demeaning words and actions cannot and will not be tolerated. Under the auspices of the IHSA’s Hate Speech & Harassment Policy, this report triggers an investigation by the IHSA. The investigation process is now underway, and we will work tirelessly to achieve a resolution that reflects the serious nature of this situation.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Racist incidents spark probe at Lincoln-Way East High School
