Racist incident at high school sporting event is condemned
SPRING VALLEY, Rockland County (PIX11) -- "Extremely disturbing and disheartening... heinous, unacceptable, and despicable" are words that two local school districts are using to describe a racist incident that happened at a school sporting event last weekend.
How the schools involved handled what happened has some of the athletes who were on the receiving end of the racist actions saying that they're somewhat hopeful that recurring incidents like it will become fewer and farther between.
At Spring Valley High School in Rockland County, about 35 miles north of the city, students and their families were still talking about the Saturday incident.
"They started making monkey noises at us," said Woodney Jeanmarie, a sophomore basketball player, who described what happened when the team was 50 miles from home, playing the team at Roy C. Ketcham High School, in Wappingers Falls.
"They [also] made whip noises, like sounds of like whips cracking and stuff," Jeanmarie added.
It happened while senior player Eric Griffin was shooting from the free throw line, later in the game.
"At the moment, I didn't really care because I was locked into the game," Griffin told PIX11 News.
He said that his and his teammates' intense focus on the game is part of their training, which's been sharpened by the fact that in the last three years, at least eight different racist or anti-semitic incidents at school sporting events have been reported in the Hudson Valley.
After this latest one, the superintendents of both districts involved -- East Ramapo, which is majority of color, and Wappingers, which is majority white -- sent out letters on Sunday to families district-wide, severely condemning what happened, and supporting all families.
Then, on Monday, Wappingers Superintendent Dr. Dwight Bonk sent out an alert saying that "an individual has been identified" who will "be handled in accordance with the... Code of Conduct."
Jonathan Mede, another senior on the Spring Valley team, said that both superintendents' messages were effective.
"[The incident] was kind of like bad, but the school handled it well," Mede said. "Our teammates handled it well."
Such swift action, Mede and other teammates who were on the team that was targeted said is appropriate and helps to prevent more incidents like the one they'd experienced.
They also mentioned that their underdog win by 40 points significantly softened the blow of the inexcusable act against them. They also acknowledged, though, that as a matter of course they're called on to take the high road.
"We're used to getting criticized," said Mede, the senior player. "We just handled it the right way."
He and his teammates singled out their coaches. They said that basketball coaches Joseph Parrinello and Wendi Parrinello took action immediately after the incident happened. The coaches walked over to the opposing team leadership to get the racist activity to stop.
The Spring Valley players said that it was an exemplary way to handle the situation.
"We're trying to change the narrative at Spring Valley High School," player Eric Griffin said.