David Douglas HS students subjected to racism during football games, says volunteer coach

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – An OSAA investigation is underway following claims of racism at local high school football games.

David Douglas High School volunteer football coach Marcell Frazier has posted on social media about incidents he says have occurred in recent weeks at three local area high schools.

He told FOX 12 on Monday that it all started during their first away game at Forest Grove High School in early September, when a person who was a community member or a student approached the coaches in a truck in the parking lot. Frazier said the individual started making monkey noises and gesturing at them.

He said that during their second game at Rex Putnam High School, a student of David Douglas claimed that a student of Rex Putnam had called him the n-word.

One of our kids came off the sidelines crying, and it's a kid we never really see cry, Frazier said.

On Thursday and Friday, David Douglas went to play at Adrienne C. Nelson High School (named for the first black woman to serve on the US District Court in Oregon).

On Thursday we again had a player use the n-word against one of our players, a huddle was called, there was no ejection, Frazier said. There was also a word: King Kong was used to describe one of our black athletes.

He said Nelson High students also threw a pie into the crowd during the game the next night, and monkey noises were directed at a black coach.

Despite the zero-tolerance policy in OSAA rules, Frazier said no players were ejected because coaches were unable to identify the offending students.

Frazier took to social media to post about the incidents, and his posts were responded to with stories of personal experiences with the schools and concerns about the games.

They didn't do enough to find out who it was, Frazier said. And when we think about the emotional trauma and the emotional damage that our students face, not just living in a poverty-stricken neighborhood and a neighborhood where there's gun violence, what message does that send, when sometimes they're not safe at home, but We also go to these away games and were also mistreated?

Fox 12 reached out to the OSAA for comment on these incidents and they sent us the following statement:

We became aware of the alleged incidents this weekend. Since then, we have been in contact with administrators from all of the schools and school districts involved as they work together to investigate what took place and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. This type of behavior is unacceptable and simply has no place in high school sports; they will not be tolerated. The OSAA remains committed to working with its member schools to create a safe and welcoming environment for all during interscholastic events.

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The Nelson High School administration has sent a letter to the families, saying they too are conducting an investigation and plan to hold the offenders accountable.

They said they have since verbally reiterated to their players several times that there is no tolerance for hate speech, and that if an athlete is found guilty of using such language, he or she will be kicked off the team.

The letter from director Greg Harris read in part:

We spent the weekend working with David Douglas' administrative team to get a clearer picture of what happened at these matches, learn more about these events, hold those responsible to account and increase oversight to offer during this season and in the future. Our response also includes relearning expectations, not just as spectators and athletes, but as members of a shared community. The behavior that has been reported is not only unacceptable, but also stands in stark contrast to the values ​​that we as a school and district hold dear. The actions of a small number of members of our community have called these values ​​into question, and we will now do the work necessary to repair the damage done and hold those responsible accountable so that every team that visits our campus feels safe and feels supported.

To be clear, racism, discrimination and disrespectful behavior of any kind will never be tolerated and does not reflect the core values ​​of our district, school or community. We are committed to promoting a safe and inclusive environment for all, including visitors to our campus

To the David Douglas High School community: As a district directly adjacent to ours, we offer our deepest and most sincere apologies. You came to our campus as a guest and you deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. We have fallen far short in this regard, and we sincerely regret that. But more than that, we strive to make meaningful and tangible changes to show that we truly respect and value your school and your community. Please know that I have been working with David Douglas' administrative staff all weekend and will continue to do so to learn, grow, and put these words into practice.

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North Clackamas School District also sent us the following statement regarding the incident at Rex Putnam High School:

We take allegations of racist language very seriously and are committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment for all student-athletes. While the exact details of the incident remain unclear due to conflicting accounts, there was an allegation of racist language during the game by a Rex Putnam High School player. The match was immediately stopped to address the situation involving referees, coaches and players, with an emphasis on a zero-tolerance policy towards racist behaviour. After a thorough review of the incident, disciplinary action was taken.

We use this incident as an opportunity to reinforce our values ​​and educate our students about the impact of their words and actions. We are also working with the David Douglas government to ensure we are committed to action and to enable open communication going forward.

Forest Grove High School also released a statement condemning racist language of any kind.

Frazier has had conversations with the OSAA about the investigation and he hopes laws that create accountability for these types of situations, like Oregon House Bill 3409, will help serve justice.

He had an extensive professional soccer career before serving as community partnerships and violence prevention coordinator at the Gresham City Managers office, and he said this behavior was unlike anything he had seen in his years in the sport.

We've been all over the south and I've never heard any racist comments on the football field. “I have never seen fans racially attacked by other fans,” Frazier said. The fact that I had a safer environment in Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and West Virginia than I did at Nelson High School down the road is quite concerning to me.

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