Parents of Elmont Memorial High School students expressed concern about an incident at a girls basketball away game earlier this month where a spectator made racist taunts to the Elmont players.
According to school officials, during a junior varsity game at Wellington C. Mepham High School in Bellmore, a student taunted the Elmont girls with bananas and racist remarks.
According to the New York State Education Department, Mepham High School’s enrollment is approximately 75 percent white, while Elmont Memorial’s is approximately 70 percent Black.
The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, according to Sewanhaka Superintendent James Grossane, quickly identified the responsible student, took internal action and issued an apology. Grossane added that counseling for the student and education for the school has gone on and will continue to take place.
Grossane read a statement during a meeting of the Sewanhaka Board of Education on Tuesday night about the incident, saying he is proud of how the girls conducted themselves on and off the court.
“While we are disappointed to hear the display of an opponent’s spectator at a recent away basketball game we are pleased with how the Bellmore-Merrick administration quickly addressed this incident, identified the individual involved and took action internally. We will continue to advocate for our student-athletes and use moments like these to hopefully educate and enlighten the broader athletic and student community.”
Grossane also mentioned how the messaging from the Bellmore-Merrick’s administration has been eloquent, heartfelt and sincere regarding the apologies to the basketball team. According to the superintendent, the Mepham team was empathetic and supportive during the incident.
Tiffany Capers, a trustee on the Elmont Board of Education, said the board should advocate more for the students.
“Too many times we tell our students to be the bigger person,” Capers said. “We say ‘ignore the bad behavior, just play the game.’ There’s even a sign printed in Elmont’s gymnasium to just play the game. It’s time for us to say, ‘this isn’t right, we got your back.’”
Capers also mentioned that coaches have been suspended from games for violating guidelines when they win a game by too many points. She questioned why there is a disparate reaction between the scores of games and racist incidents, which many parents Tuesday night alleged happened more than once in the past to Elmont teams.
Grossane said that moving forward, all games in the Sewanhaka district will have excerpts from the fairness and bias section from the handbook of Section IV, which oversees athletics, read by members of both teams beforehand. The superintendent also said at the January meeting for Section IV, he plans to offer the idea of mandating the excerpt be read at all games for districts in the county.
Michelle Oxley, a parent in the district, said more needs to be done to ensure that this does not happen again.
“it is my hope that we would have sent more of a message than a slap on the wrist, to peel back the layers of hate for this student,” Oxley said. “According to reports, the student purchased bananas, really? How many times have we been told we look like monkeys?”
Grossane said that the initial response is just the first step and that there will be more moving forward regarding conduct for spectators and district expectations for teams and players.
Before closing his remarks, the superintendent assured members of the public that he has taken their suggestions into consideration.
“You’ve all given me good ideas and we are going to get to work on them,” Grossane said. “I am a man of my word, and I am going to do everything for these kids.”
