Laguna Hills High Student Spouts Racial Slurs At Black Player During Basketball Game
By Web Staff
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LAGUNA HILLS, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A Laguna Hills High School student unleashed a flurry of racial slurs directed at the only Black player on Portola High School’s boy’s basketball team during a game last week.
A cell phone camera captured the flurry of slurs directed at the player during the Jan. 21 varsity game between Portola High, which is located in Irvine, and Laguna Hills High. In the video, the racist taunts go on for about a minute. The unidentified student is heard saying, “Where is his slave owner?” and “Chain him up, chain him up,” among many other slurs.
“I was enraged, hurt,” Sabrina Little-Brown, the mother of the Portola High School player, told CBSLA Tuesday. “To know that a child has that much ignorance, hatred and disdain for someone they do not even know is absolutely hurtful.”
Little-Brown and her husband went to the Irvine City Council meeting Tuesday evening to share their outrage after they claimed the hate-filled rant continued for the entire game, and no one stepped in to stop it. They also accused Laguna Hills High’s head varsity coach of being verbally abusive to their son.
According to Little-Brown, her son heard the racial slurs while watching game film the next day.
She said Laguna Hills high has identified the student who was yelling the slurs and the school is currently investigating what disciplinary action to take. She said the school also issued an apology. CBSLA asked Laguna Hills High for a comment and are awaiting a response.
“My son is resilient, and he understands that, unfortunately, there are ignorant people in this world, and that ignorance is perpetuated through generations,” Little-Brown said.
Dr. Crystal Turner, superintendent for Saddleback Valley Unified School District, which includes Laguna Hills High, issued a statement Tuesday which acknowledged that racist rants were from a Laguna High student. Her statement read, in part:
“The language and connotations expressed by the words used do not represent the culture, attitudes, or feelings of the students and staff of LHHS, nor those of SVUSD. LHHS is taking action. The student and been counseled, and immediate, appropriate consequences and discipline have taken place.”
Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan also issued a statement late Tuesday night on Facebook:
“Tonight Vice Mayor Anthony Kuo brought up the incident involving racist hateful comments directed towards one of our Portola High basketball players. I’ve read the response from Saddleback School District & it’s not good enough. When we say we will not tolerate hate, we mean it. I will be sending out a letter demanding more. I want to see action taken that sends a clear message to everyone that there are serious consequences to hate & racist speech. No mother should be brought to tears about the way her child is bullied.”
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