Virginia high school cancels football game over racist social media videos

A high school in Virginia will not be holding its scheduled football game on Friday night after videos that were shared on social media featured some of the team’s players making racist remarks.

Saleen Martin of The Virginian-Plot reports that Poquoson High School has forfeited Friday night’s game against York High School because of two videos that originated on Snapchat and spread to other social media networks. Poquoson School Superintendent Jennifer Parish said some of the students in the clips are members of the football team, and they were recorded at a party and not on the school’s campus. However, Parish said the district has a responsibility to keep students safe and “understand that behavior has consequences.”

“The language and behavior in these videos have no place in our schools or in our community,” Parish said in a statement released on Thursday. “We find it abhorrent, and, while these videos were created outside of school, we are taking action within the scope of our Code of Conduct and under division policy.”

The videos, which were viewed by The Virginian-Plot, were each less than 30 seconds in length. In one, a white student is shown repeatedly using a racial slur while threatening to beat someone up. The student flipped the middle finger at the camera while another boy came up behind him and said, “If you’re from York County and you want some, come get some.” Another teenager is shown in the second video challenging students from York County and repeatedly using racist language.

As Martin notes, Poquoson is a small town with a population of around 10,000. The school district is made up of 92 percent white students, 2 percent Hispanic or Latino and 1 percent black. York County has a population of 67,000 and its schools are home to 72 percent white students, 13 percent black and 6 percent Hispanic/Latino.

H/T USA Today HSS