Accusations of racism marred a high school football game. Shocked? You shouldn’t be

On Friday, Nov. 4, Stanwood High School’s football team scored a big victory, defeating the Lakes Lancers 28-20 on the way to the squad’s second straight trip to the state playoffs.

As Cameron Van Til of the Everett Herald reported, there was no shortage of celebration after the hard-fought win. Kids immersed in the thrill of the moment took to the rain-soaked field and created an impromptu Slip-N-Slide, basking under the fleeting glory of the prep high school lights and the adoration of the hometown crowd.

Just days later, the victory — and Stanwood’s accomplishments on the field — have been crudely overshadowed. As The News Tribune’s Jon Manley reported, ugly accusations have marred the game, the winning team’s performance and the outcome. While shock and disbelief are natural first reactions, they probably shouldn’t be.

According TNT reporting — which includes information from social media posts and, more importantly, interviews with Lakes parents and coaches who described witnessing the behavior — Lancer cheerleaders and players were subjected to racist taunts and called the n-word multiple times during the course of the game. Claire Dade Johnson, the parent of a Lakes cheerleader, took to social media to describe what she experienced, saying her daughter and some of her cheer teammates were verbally accosted with the racial slur while using the bathroom. During the 2021-2022 school year, the majority of Lakes’ student body was non-white.

Meanwhile, longtime Lakes football coach Dave Miller — one of the most respected coaches in the area — told The News Tribune what he saw transpire on the field.

“It was pretty prevalent,” Miller told The News Tribune. “The student section was yelling the n-word at our players. Our coaches heard it throughout the game from their players. It was bad.”

“During the game, it was happening a lot on the field,” the coach of more than two decades continued. “We had to calm down a lot of my players that were having a hard time maintaining their composure, because they’re not used to hearing that. It’s sad that in 2022, we still have people who want to judge people by the color of their skin.”

Make no mistake, “bad” and “sad” are extreme understatements. If what transpired is anywhere close to what’s been described, it’s appalling and abhorrent behavior that warrants swift action from the Stanwood-Camano School District. Superintendent Deborah Rumbaugh has promised a thorough investigation, and people should expect nothing less. The accusations raise serious questions about behavior on the field, the behavior in the stands and the behavior of any adult who might have witnessed the racists verbal attacks without speaking up. Lakes’ players, coaches and cheer squad also are owed an apology.

Still, the situation is more than an isolated incident, which is what’s particularly troubling. This was no one-off; instead, it was a repeat performance of hatred we’ve seen too many times before.

Earlier this year in Thurston County, Capital High School fans were recorded directing a racial slur at an opposing player from River Ridge. In Clark County, the Camas School District launched an independent investigation last January into racist taunts allegedly made during a girls’ basketball game, ultimately concluding that while there was no conclusive evidence, the derogatory remarks likely were used.

Underscoring the scope of the problem, in our neighboring state to the south the Oregon School Activities Association, Board of Education and Department of Education released a joint statement this fall, raising alarm over bullying and harassing behavior. The statement, which was signed by the Oregon School Boards Association and Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, warned of what education officials described as “increasing negativity, bullying, and even hate speech and symbols” making their way into youth sporting and other events.

In the starkest terms, the picture it all paints is simple: The derogatory, unspeakable, racist behavior that Lakes parents and coaches described to The News Tribune might be rare, but it’s far from unprecedented. As Miller noted, it’s hard to fathom how that could still be the case in 2022, but here we are. For all the progress we celebrate as a country, you sure don’t have to look hard to find examples of just how far we have to go.

The bigger and more important question, of course, is what to do about it. While it’s easy to come down on high school kids for engaging in racist behavior, the truth is they’re kids, and this is about more than punishing bad behavior anyway.

When anti-Black racism erupts from the high school stands or from prep players on the field, it’s a symptom of a societal disease. The sin isn’t saying the words alone, it’s allowing the hate and ignorance that inspire them to fester and grow. In this case, the power to change rests squarely with white Americans, whether we want to admit it or not. There are those who embolden and encourage hate, and others who turn a blind eye or shrug it off. The results are essentially the same.

“It’s very sad,” Dade Johnson told The News Tribune. “It’s disheartening. My kid has done so many things that have been positive, helping others. ... I was only posting it because I want them to follow up with the students. I don’t want it to go away, be swept under the rug. I want them to be held accountable.”

In public or private, a lot of people — on and off the field — should be looking in the mirror right now.