Individuals, even students at the high school level, need to think about what implications their actions may have, especially in today's society. This was the case for two New Jersey Holy Spirit High School students. However, they failed to do so before their actions made national news headlines.
Students from a Catholic high school "have been warned but not punished after two of them dressed as a monkey and a banana during a game against a mostly black basketball team" (Associate Press, 2015, para 1). According to the the USA Today article, a Holy Spirit official came forward saying that the conduct violated league rules for sportsmanship and said an incident like this would not happen again. The school's athletic director, Jay Connell, said no students will be punished because of the incident.
Opposing coaches from Atlantic City, fans at the game and the Cape-Atlantic League’s supervising board of referees were outraged at the students' behaviors during the game and with the lack of control the students' parents had over their children. Atlantic City Athletic Director Anthony Nistico called the actions offensive, saying "These two students were allowed to walk into the gym in these costumes and with this shower curtain. What were the adults thinking?" (AP, 2015, para 8).
Along with the costumes, the students also used two giant shower curtains, which turned out to violate the NJSIAA Code of Conduct in more ways than one.
Students modeled their behavior off of Arizona State's Curtain of Distraction, as shown in the video below.
On the other side of things, the Holy Spirit coach believes this has been blown way out of proportion.
When this incident occurred a few days back, it was still Black History Month, and that makes the situation even more offensive. However, what is puzzling to me is that Holy Spirit's starting five were all African American. So if their intent was to be racist, then why offend your own team in the process of offending your opponent?
At my high school games, students used to dress in everything from bananas, to elderly adults, to Native Americans, to Davy Crockett. All of these could be considered offensive depending who you ask. So, does the addition of a monkey move this situation from playful fun to a racist act? Or did these students not intend to cause harm and just simply neglect to think about who this would impact in a negative way?
References:
Associated Press (2015, March 1). Students who taunted black players at New Jersey basketball game get warning, no punishment. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatodayhss.com/2015/atlantic-city-holy-spirit-basketball-monkey-racism
This is an interesting topic in that there is so much room for debate. While some think that this was a racist tactic, others think it was a harmless joke. In my opinion, I do not think students should be allowed to wear costumes to sporting events in order to prevent situations like this from occurring. I do not think the kids were malicious in their attempt to distract the opposing time, but rather trying to do something funny that would catch the attention of their classmates. The school administration should send an email to all parents and children in that district informing them of the banning of costumes at athletic events. This will ensure that no more students enter a sporting event dressed in a questionable costume. I think that in many race-related issues, people read too deeply into the situation. The kids who dressed up as a monkey and a banana were most likely acting innocently, yet their actions were misconstrued.
ReplyDeleteKali Morgenstern
check your BGSU email account at least once a day, but not during class.
ReplyDeleteBeing a basketball player I was instantly attracted to this post. Unfortunately most schools are required to say certain things about sportsmanship before the game but of course that goes on to be ignored for many reasons. I know that at most MAC schools they say that they don't tolerate any racist or sexist remarks by fans cheering against the opposing team. I've had teammates in the past get kicked out of a game due to the constant nagging from the opposing team’s student section. They tend to push their boundaries and get way to personal and then attack certain student-athletes. This is most common with basketball because it’s an indoor sport so I can say that I see things like this on an everyday basis and it really doesn't surprise me that some idiot acted out and probably acted as if they did nothing wrong. I think the rules should be enforced so that this doesn’t happen again.
Jasmine Matthews
Jasmine,
DeleteI'm glad that you gave your viewpoint as a player who has witnessed this kind of harassment on a regular basis. I don't care if it is "well-meaning" or 'innocent.' Innocent can also be ignorant and there is no excuse for that!
Dr. Spencer
This is an interesting post. To be honest, I enjoy watching the curtain of distraction and similar gimmicks in college sport. Rather or not their tactic is effective, the gimmick is entertaining to me. It is not surprising that high school students are trying to emulate college students. As you can see in the clip, these actions are being glorified. Now the question is this a racist act or harmless fun? In this instance I believe it was harmless fun, especially due to the fact that players on the home team of the students were black. You can find a monkey and banana at many costumes shops. I don’t think the students’ intent was to be racist or malicious. I’m not saying that premeditated racist acts aren’t performed in sport, but I don’t think this was one of them. Administration should take action, rather it be eliminating or pre approving costumes. Clearly the opposing team and referees weren’t pleased by these actions, so if administration doesn’t effectively try address the issue then they are disregarding everyone.
ReplyDeleteDavid Sims