Crowds arrived Tuesday night to support the Winooski High School boys soccer team, which the city’s district superintendent said faced racist slurs during a match. Three Enosburgh players, and some spectators, are accused of using racial slurs against Winooski players. Both teams are also accused each other of being too physical, both district superintendents called it “violent.”The Spartans took to the field on Tuesday night. Winooski Mutual Aid invited the community to come out and stand in solidarity with the team.”Soccer is such a great game. There is no room for that,” Carl Severance from Winooski said. “It kind of made my blood boil a bit too, but mainly I wanted to support the team of Winooski and the students of Winooski.”Signs were held condemning the acts of racism and calling for action taken against those involved. “It really just made me sad. I was angry about it,” Winooski resident Liz Dallas said. “This is a small way we can come out and help them feel supported.”Winooski Superintendent Sean McMannon said in a statement Monday that he wanted to see the Vermont Principals’ Association strengthen their approach to anti-racism training and reporting. The VPA responded to the incident Tuesday, saying in-part:”We will continue to work with each of the given schools so that a safe and healthy student athletic environment can be assured for each team, no matter who and where they play, and certainly when next matched with each other.””As a community we need to partner to ensure anyone attending the games participates in a respectful manner, and in no case will hate speech of any kind be tolerated.””I just feel like our young people have such a harsh world to deal with these days,” Dallas added.The VPA added that they began implementing anti-bias training for coaches and referees at the beginning of this fall sports season and that they will continue to do what they can to help end racism that exists in Vermont schools.The incident remains under investigation by both school districts.
Crowds arrived Tuesday night to support the Winooski High School boys soccer team, which the city’s district superintendent said faced racist slurs during a match.
Three Enosburgh players, and some spectators, are accused of using racial slurs against Winooski players. Both teams are also accused each other of being too physical, both district superintendents called it “violent.”
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The Spartans took to the field on Tuesday night. Winooski Mutual Aid invited the community to come out and stand in solidarity with the team.
“Soccer is such a great game. There is no room for that,” Carl Severance from Winooski said. “It kind of made my blood boil a bit too, but mainly I wanted to support the team of Winooski and the students of Winooski.”
Signs were held condemning the acts of racism and calling for action taken against those involved.
“It really just made me sad. I was angry about it,” Winooski resident Liz Dallas said. “This is a small way we can come out and help them feel supported.”
Winooski Superintendent Sean McMannon said in a statement Monday that he wanted to see the Vermont Principals’ Association strengthen their approach to anti-racism training and reporting.
The VPA responded to the incident Tuesday, saying in-part:
“We will continue to work with each of the given schools so that a safe and healthy student athletic environment can be assured for each team, no matter who and where they play, and certainly when next matched with each other.”
“As a community we need to partner to ensure anyone attending the games participates in a respectful manner, and in no case will hate speech of any kind be tolerated.”
“I just feel like our young people have such a harsh world to deal with these days,” Dallas added.
The VPA added that they began implementing anti-bias training for coaches and referees at the beginning of this fall sports season and that they will continue to do what they can to help end racism that exists in Vermont schools.
The incident remains under investigation by both school districts.
