A Virginia high school has canceled its Friday football game after a pair of videos emerged online Thursday that showcased football players using racial epithets.
As reported by the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Progress, a pair of Virginia newspapers, Poquoson (Va.) High School forfeited its scheduled Friday night contest against York County (Va.) High School after two videos that featured racist and foul language were posted to Snapchat. Per Poquoson School Superintendent Jennifer Parish, some of the students in the video were members of the school’s football team.
The two videos were quickly deleted from Snapchat, but they proliferated on other forms of social media. While Parish said the video was recorded off campus at an apparent party, the language used in the clips inspired the following statement on the Poquoson School District’s website:
The language and behavior in these videos have no place in our schools or in our community. We find it abhorrent, and, while these videos were created outside of school, we are taking action within the scope of our Code of Conduct and under division policy.
One action that we are taking is to forfeit Friday’s game against York High. While we know some will be disappointed, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to keep our students safe. We also have a responsibility to help our students understand that behavior has consequences.
As a school division, we will continue to take a strong and unified stance against racist behavior and language. Our schools welcome and serve all students, and we stand firm in our effort to maintain safe educational spaces for all students.
There was no immediate statement or announcement about what additional penalties the students involved may face.
