Mother or father advocates at a Lengthy Island highschool are demanding that native sports activities authorities take the extraordinary step of conserving colleges in a rival district off their youngsters’ athletic schedule — due to race points.
Elmont Excessive Faculty’s Mother or father Trainer Scholar Affiliation and Dad’s Membership lately held a city corridor with officers from Nassau County’s sports activities Part VIII over what the mother and father stated is an extended historical past of racist habits towards their youngsters by the Bellmore-Merrick Faculty District crowd.
Reps from Elmont Excessive’s Sewanhaka Faculty District and Bellmore-Merrick district had been in attendance, too.
“The definition of madness is doing the identical factor time and again and anticipating a unique outcome,” stated Lynette Battle, a Sewanhaka board of trustee, former PTSA president and Elmont mother, to The Publish.
“One thing totally different needs to be achieved. And somebody must be brave sufficient to face on enterprise,’’ she stated.
The straw that apparently broke the camel’s again for Elmont’s advocates concerned a varsity women basketball recreation on Feb. 7 at Kennedy Excessive Faculty within the Bellmore-Merrick district.
An Elmont participant and a Kennedy participant received right into a scuffle through the recreation, however solely the Elmont woman, who’s black, was kicked out after she was seen swinging on the Kennedy woman, who’s white.
Elmont appealed the suspension when video emerged exhibiting their scholar was hit first.
Part VIII upheld the suspension initially however then reinstated the woman after a second enchantment, permitting her to go well with up for a play-off recreation.
Bellmore-Merrick in the meantime suspended its Kennedy participant for 2 video games voluntarily.
However for the activist mother and father at Elmont, the incident offered sufficient gas to make them wish to redress the historical past of issues between the districts.
On the latest assembly, the Elmont camp demanded that Bellmore-Merrick colleges be stored off its highschool’s athletic schedule, in addition to that of its center college, beginning subsequent fall.
Lynette Battle, a mom of a latest graduate of Elmont Excessive, alleged an extended record of racially charged incidents since 2019.
In February 2019, Elmont cheerleaders had been referred to as racial slurs by Bellmore-Merrick spectators, one among whom wore an afro-wig to mock the black gamers, Battle instructed The Publish.
That November, a workshop was held for college students from the 2 colleges.
Gamers from Elmont alleged on the session that their Bellmore-Merrick rivals had from time to time spit on them, refused to shake their palms and used racial slurs, Battle stated.
In December 2021, some followers at a Bellmore-Merrick Mepham Excessive Faculty vs. Elmont junior varsity basketball recreation hurled racial taunts involving “bananas’” and referred to as the women “monkeys.”
Two followers who had been concerned had been disciplined, and each the superintendent and district athletic director from Bellmore-Merrick apologized to the Elmont workforce in particular person at their highschool, in response to Patrick Pizzarelli, Part VIII director, to The Publish.
In 2023, at a junior varsity volleyball recreation between Elmont and Kennedy, followers as soon as once more taunted Elmont gamers with bananas and “monkey” feedback.
Different racially tinged incidents, which weren’t formally reported to native sports activities authorities, additionally occurred in August 2022, twice in September 2022 and once more in October 2023 between the faculties’ college students, in response to Battle.
Part VIII and college districts have responded by holding workshops with concerned groups and by instituting the studying of a civility assertion earlier than video games.
That’s not sufficient for no less than some Elmont mother and father.
“Our youngsters are those being victimized. Why do they have to be within the room for a kumbaya second?” Battle stated.
Jon Johnson of the Dad’s Membership instructed The Publish that his three grownup youngsters — now ages 37, 29, and 23 — all went by Elmont Excessive, all performed sports activities, and all had their very own expertise with on-the-field racism.
“So when my center son was enjoying towards [Wellington C. Mepham High School in the Bellmore-Merrick district] he was enjoying lacrosse, and in the midst of the sport, the opposing participant, after Elmont scored, the opposing participant referred to as him flat-out the n-word and instructed him to get off of the sector,’’ stated the dad, who’s black.
“We’ve got trusted our district to assist look over our youngsters, however I don’t assume that they’ve, as a result of they maintain doing issues to place a Band-Assist to a gunshot wound.”
Pizzarelli stated he believes his group has been working effectively to reply to any racial incidents that happen and that progress has been made lately by collaborative city halls and open dialogue.
When requested about years-old alleged incidents, he expresses empathy for the mother and father and gamers, however stated it’s unimaginable for Nassau officers to reply appropriately if issues aren’t formally reported.
Pizzarelli stated Part VIII will decide on scheduling within the coming months.
Neither Bellmore-Merrick Superintendent Michael Harrington nor Sewanhaka Superintendent Regina Agrusa responded to The Publish’s requests for remark.
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