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New York parents demand rival district schools be left off sports schedules due to alleged race issues: report

Parents from a Long Island, New York, high school are advocating that games against a rival school district never be scheduled again due to alleged race issues.

The Elmont High School’s Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), as well as the school’s Dad’s Club, held a town hall with Nassau County sports Section VIII officials to discuss what parents are calling a "long history of racist behavior" from the Bellmore-Merrick School District, according to The New York Post.

Also present at the town hall were representatives from the Sewanhaka School District, which Elmont High School is under, and the Bellmore-Merrick district.

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A girls varsity basketball game on Feb. 7 between Elmont High School and Kennedy High School was the tipping point. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Lynette Battle, who serves on the Sewanhaka board of trustees, while also being the former president of the PTSA, called the situation the "definition of insanity," alleging that it is a recurring situation.

"Something different has to be done," Battle added. "And someone needs to be courageous enough to stand on business."

The racial incidents allegedly spanned years, but one in particular caused a large stir leading up to the meeting. It was a girls varsity basketball game on Feb. 7 between Elmont and Kennedy High School, which is in the Bellmore-Merrick school district, that was the tipping point.

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During the game, an altercation occurred between one player from each side, where only the player from Elmont, who The Post reported is Black, was ejected after swinging at the girl from Kennedy, who is White.

However, once video came out showing the player from Kennedy hitting the player from Elmont first, the latter appealed the suspension. Though Section VIII initially upheld their decision to suspend the player, she was reinstated and allowed to participate in a playoff game after a second appeal.

Even though Bellmore-Merrick made the decision to voluntarily suspend the Kennedy player involved in the altercation, parents from Elmont have clearly seen enough to ask to never see schools from their rival district, including middle schools, on their athletic schedules.

During the meeting, Battle listed years’ worth of alleged racial incidents between the school districts, including one from 2023 during a junior varsity volleyball game between Elmont and Kennedy High Schools, when fans allegedly taunted Elmont players, calling them "monkeys" and having bananas in their possession, Battle told The Post.

A similar situation occurred in December 2021, when fans from Bellmore-Merrick Mepham High School were allegedly calling girls "monkeys" during a junior varsity basketball game. Bananas were also said to be involved.

With that last incident, the fans were both disciplined, as the Bellmore-Merrick superintendent and athletic director apologized to Elmont in person at their high school, Section VIII Director Patrick Pizzarelli told The Post.

Battle also detailed an incident in February 2019, when Elmont cheerleaders allegedly hurled racial slurs at spectators supporting Bellmore-Merrick. She also claims one of the cheerleaders wore an "afro-wig to mock the black players."

Battle added more incidents in 2022 and 2023 that were allegedly racially charged. However, they were never reported to the necessary sports powers in the districts.

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In response, Section VIII and the districts have held workshops for students on the teams involved, while also "instituting the reading of a civility statement before games," The Post reports.

"Our children are the ones being victimized," Battle retorts. "Why do they need to be in the room for a kumbaya moment?"

The Post also interviewed Jon Johnson of the Dad’s Club, and while his three children may no longer be in the Sewanhaka school system, they did all graduate from Elmont High School and allegedly dealt with similar racial incidents.

Johnson detailed one involving his "middle son," who played against Wellington C. Mepham High School – another in the Bellmore-Merrick district.

Parents from a Long Island, New York, high school are advocating that games against a rival school district never be scheduled again due to alleged race issues.

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"He was playing lacrosse, and in the middle of the game, the opposing player, after Elmont scored, the opposing player called him the flat-out the n-word and told him to get off of the field," Johnson, who is Black, told The Post.

Pizzarelli has defended the way Section VIII and the respective districts responded to these incidents, adding that town halls like these have created progress in resolving these issues.

Parents beg to differ.

"We have trusted our district to help look over our kids, but I don’t think that they have, because they keep doing things to put a Band-Aid to a gunshot wound," Johnson said to The Post.

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