Racism in high school sports is nothing new, but a Black athlete being punished as a victim of racism definitely is.
And that’s exactly what happened at a Utah high school football game earlier this season.
Elias West, a Black athlete for Layton High School in Utah, was on the bottom of the pile after being tackled. As the pile untangled, a white opposing player stood over him and said “Stay down, you ni**er.”
It was loud enough for West to hear but quiet enough that others couldn’t.
“Don’t f***ing call me a ni**er,” shouted West as he bounded up in self-defense.
And that’s when it all went wrong.
The whistle blew and to his surprise, West was ejected from the game.
“I was the one that got punished,” West told The Salt Lake Tribune about the incident.
It was a stunning reaction to a situation that took many wrong turns and ultimately punished the victim.
When the parents came down to find out what was happening, they were told by the referees that they heard only West use the slur and not the opposing player. And unfortunately for him, the Utah High School Activities Association has a zero-tolerance policy in these situations.
That’s generally good. But in this case, the rule backfired and penalized the victim it was meant to protect.
After the game, West, a high school senior, was suspended for two games, which meant he’d miss the last regular-season game.
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