Oak Ridge investigating racist taunts at game; CIF says it ‘goes against humanity’
Oak Ridge High School principal Aaron Palm told The Sacramento Bee on Monday afternoon that his El Dorado Hills campus is “in the middle of investigating” and has “some strong leads” on which fan used racist taunts at a girls’ soccer game Saturday night.
Oak Ridge defeated Buchanan, of the Fresno region, for the Northern California championship Saturday night. But the victory was tarnished by a single student from the Oak Ridge rooting section who heckled Buchanan players with barking sounds to one player and what Buchanan coach Jasara Gillette defined as “gorilla noises” aimed at another. Buchanan’s Ciara Wilson, a Black senior star headed to Fresno State on scholarship, was in motion for a penalty kick when the monkey sounds reverberated through the otherwise silent stadium. Wilson heard it and made the shot, then approached a referee and pointed to the stands to express concern of lack of sportsmanship.
The aftermath has been a firestorm of Buchanan players, coaches and community members from all over the state expressing outrage, including Buchanan coach Jasara Gillette calling such taunts as “blatantly racist.” Oak Ridge as a school has apologized to Buchanan and its community. Some Oak Ridge fans on Monday reached out to Buchanan to offer apologies and support and insisted that their own fan base was “appalled” at the racial taunts.
Gillette, the Buchanan coach, said she had no issue with the Oak Ridge players. She praised the Trojans for their class and sportsmanship during the match and after, when Trojans players assured the Bears that they do not condone such unruly student behavior. Palm said Oak Ridge students have largely been supportive at games and that he applauds them for attending so many events, but he added Sunday to The Bee that, “It only takes one to ruin it. It’s just sad. It’s real. It happened, and we have to face the consequences, and we have more work to do (in regard sportsmanship).”
On Monday, Palm said his school will continue “to vigorously pursue this.” The El Dorado Union High School District, which oversees Oak Ridge, on Monday issued a statement on social media that was also sent to the Buchanan administration in a letter.
The statement read, in part: “Both teams played with class and exceptional talent. Sadly, during the shootout part of the game, one individual from the Oak Ridge cheering section made a monkey sound while an African American student from Buchanan took a shot. This incident disgusts our learning community and embarrasses our entire school. There is no room for this type of individual behavior anywhere in society. It is our promise to Buchanan High School and our community that we will do everything in our power to identify this individual and hold them accountable. This type of action will not be tolerated.”
The statement concluded with, “The physical and emotional safety of our students and all guests is of the utmost importance to us. ... Oak Ridge is committed to doing what is necessary to prevent anything like this from happening again.”
Similar events have happened before at Oak Ridge, however, under previous campus student leadership. In 2016, a girls’ basketball playoff game at Oak Ridge went without incident on the court in a tightly contested game, won by Oak Ridge. But the antics of Oak Ridge students in the rooting section left a sour taste for both programs and schools.
Racial taunts and body-shaming insults were directed at McClatchy’s Asian and Black players. McClatchy parent Glen Kumamoto said in a Bee story, “We have played in gyms all across Sacramento and the Bay Area. We have never, ever been subjected to anything like that. We have never been more disrespected than we were in that gym.”
Palm was the interim principal at Oak Ridge then. He issued a lengthy email to Oak Ridge community members after that incident, insisting the school does not support intolerance or racism.
What can the CIF do?
The CIF and its 10 sections across the state can punish offending schools — and fan behavior is part of a school — by stripping them of home playoff games. It happened in a February girls’ basketball game when McClatchy fans rushed the court while the clock was winding down, including a mother holding a baby and another woman jumping into a defensive stance as if to guard an opposing player.
The referees for that game declined to put time back on the clock, wrongly believing the game was over, but the Sac-Joaquin Section office and the CIF agreed that McClatchy, as the No. 2 seed in the NorCal tournament, would have to travel for games as punishment for the fan conduct.
Section commissioner Mike Garrison said sportsmanship and fan conduct are stressed regularly with member schools. He told The Bee on Monday of the Oak Ridge soccer incident, “It’s truly unfortunate. I feel for the Buchanan kids and everything that happened to them. Based on those noises made, that was so out of line in so many ways. It goes against humanity. Let’s take it a step farther from high school sports. One human to another, why treat anyone like that?”
Garrison said he is in contact with the CIF office, based in Sacramento, and with Oak Ridge administrators. The CIF and Sac-Joaquin Section will wait until Oak Ridge finishes its investigation before considering any punishment against the school.
The CIF and the section office are not in charge of disciplining students. Neither can instruct a school to discipline a student. That is up to Oak Ridge. Garrison said he will work with the CIF and member schools to better formulate a plan on dealing with fan conduct as it happens in future incidents.
The CIF said Monday that Oak Ridge will be in communication with the CIF and the section office regarding the student investigation. The CIF issued a statement that read, in part, “The CIF finds it unacceptable when those attending a game take away from all the hard work the student-athletes have put forth to participate in a championship event. The CIF prohibits discrimination or any acts that are disrespectful or demeaning toward a member school, student-athlete, or school community.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 2:27 PM.