COOLIDGE, AZ (AZFamily) — Student-athletes at an Arizona high school won’t participate in the playoffs following harassment and intimidation allegations during a basketball game last week.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Executive Board, which oversees high school athletics in the state, said it placed the Coolidge High School athletic department on probation Wednesday, effective immediately. That means all the school’s teams cannot participate in the postseason.
“The AIA and its member schools are committed to highest levels of respectful behavior from all of the participants at all AIA events,” the AIA said in an emailed statement.
The postseason ban is in response to a 3A boys basketball game Friday between Chinle High School and Coolidge High School in Coolidge. People who were at the game took to social media to say Chinle players were harassed and had racial slurs yelled at them.
A livestream video of the game shows that, as teams lined up to shake hands, a uniformed officer can be seen holding some people back. One viewer claims someone on the court spat on a Chinle player.
During a meeting between the Coolidge Unified School District and the AIA, the harassment allegations included fans making “inapproproiate use of belts” and officials complained of Coolidge fans used derogatory and racist language.
There were also claims Chinle players feared for their safety so they remained in the locker room after the game and left the building in pairs “due to safety concerns.”
The Chinle Chapter Government of the Navajo Nation passed a resolution Sunday asking the AIA to investigate the game. They said Coolidge players used verbal abuse, threatening gestures and “belligerent disregard” toward the Chinle players.
“This resolution sends a clear message to the Arizona Interscholastic Association that we stand in solidarity with the safety of our students. Our student athletes adhere to the rules of conduct and we will not allow for them to be disrespected and intimidated at an AIA Sanctioned Event,” Shawna Ann Claw, a Chinle Council delegate for the Navajo Nation Council, said on social media.
The chapter urged the AIA to punish those responsible and set strict rules to prevent something like this from happening again.
The AIA said Monday morning that it was aware of the incidents “before, during and after” Friday’s game.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Coolidge officials said they disagreed with characterizations that the end of the game was “out of control” and that anyone’s safety was in jeopardy, saying they “provided clarification during the meeting.”
The school district said it’s asking for another meeting with the AIA executive board and consulting with attorneys about what to do next, including filing an injunction and appealing.
“We believe the ruling is disproportionate to the circumstances and carries substantial consequences for student-athletes who were not involved in the incidents in question,” Coolidge Unified School District Superintendent Dawn Dee Hodge said in a written release.
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