Soccer fans from De La Salle High School accused of racist remarks against Sanger High School
Soccer fans from De La Salle High School accused of racist remarks against Sanger High School
De La Salle High School in Concord is undergoing an internal investigation into allegations that people in the stands rooting for De La Salle spoke racist insults at the opposing team during a playoff soccer match.
CONCORD, Calif. - De La Salle High School in Concord is undergoing an internal investigation into allegations that people in the stands rooting for De La Salle spoke racist insults at the opposing team during a playoff soccer match.
The allegations come from families and athletes of Sanger High School in the Central Valley, who played against the Concord boy's private Catholic school team on Tuesday, March 1.
"After nearly two dozen interviews thus far, we are unable to corroborate these allegations but will continue to investigate the matter," De La Salle High School's president, David J. Holquin said in a statement sent to KTVU.
"If any individual affiliated with De La Salle High School made such comments, they will be held accountable. We neither condone more tolerate such unacceptable behavior," he added.
Sanger High School's athletic director said he has witness statements from parents who attended Tuesday's game corroborating racist remarks made by people in the stands.
"Such as, ‘you need to learn to speak English, this is America,' ‘go back to Mexico,’ and ‘where’s your burrito?'" Brian Penner, the school's athletic director said.
In response to Holquin's statement, Cary Catalano, spokesperson for Sanger Unified School District, was outraged.
"We don't make this stuff up," Catalano said. "We know the investigation will continue. We are working cooperatively with our counterpart in the Bay Area, and we will work cooperatively with anybody to verify what was said. It just doesn't get made up," Catalano said.
Both Sanger and De La Salle administrators met with the state office of the California Interscholastic Federation over Zoom Monday afternoon to look into the allegations.
The CIF, which governs high school athletics, told KTVU it will not comment until both schools complete their individual investigations.
As school let out Monday, students at De La Salle's sister school, Carondelet High School, who attend classes and go to the sports games, were horrified by what they'd heard took place at Tuesday's soccer match.
"I know that doesn't represent the majority of Carondelet and De La Salle," Viola Descily, a senior at Carondelet High School, said.
"We try to be extremely inclusive," Sarah Campbell, her classmate, added. "Just hearing that some of our fans possibly said these comments is just really heartbreaking."