SOURCE SPORTS: Racism, Hate Speech, Harassment Allegations Haunt Virginia HS Baseball Team, Varsity Forfeits Remainder Of Season

A report out of Virginia Beach, VA has confirmed that the Kempsville High School varsity baseball team has forfeited the remainder of their 2024 season due to an ongoing investigation into allegations of racism, hate speech and harassment.

A message from Kempsville High School principal Melissa George sent to parents, which was shared with local news affiliate WTKR News 3, reads the following,

“After our lengthy investigation after we received allegations of racism on the baseball team earlier in April, we have found that racism, hate speech, and harassment have been an ongoing issue for multiple years. Due to additional information we have through our investigation, at this time we are forfeiting (the May 2) game against PA (Princess Anne). Working with the Senior Executive Director of High Schools, Dr. Walter Brower, the Chief of Schools, Mr. Matt Delaney, and Coach Penn, we came to the decision that we can not in good faith play baseball knowing the number of players involved. We will continue to work with VBCPS officials and school level personnel to determine what the remainder of the season will look like. Please know that this is much broader than the initial allegations brought forth and stems across multiple years. Should you have questions or concerns, you can reach out to Dr. Brower… More information will be sent out once a decision has been made.

Thank you,
Melissa George”

The allegations come from a parent of one of the players, who is Black, says their child was called racials slurs on several occasions, including the n-word.. The parent of the player has posted about the incidents on Facebook and has even vowed to seek legal representation.

Other parents of Black players were asked about the allegations by WTKR, but they refused to comment on the matter.

This afternoon, VBCPS(Virginia Beach City Public Schools) shared an additional statement about the situation, confirming that hate speech, harassment, and racism were evident.

Kempsville High School administration and VBCPS Department of School Leadership conducted an investigation of the Kempsville High School varsity baseball team. Evidence of racism, hate speech and harassment were confirmed. Appropriate action was taken, including forfeiture of the remainder of the baseball season. Know that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in our school division. VBCPS values inclusive communities and works to ensure that our staff, students and community embrace our core values.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools

The Kempsville Chiefs were 5-11 on the season, according to the Beach District website, putting them in eighth place.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Racism, Hate Speech, Harassment Allegations Haunt Virginia HS Baseball Team, Varsity Forfeits Remainder Of Season first appeared on The Source.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Racism, Hate Speech, Harassment Allegations Haunt Virginia HS Baseball Team, Varsity Forfeits Remainder Of Season appeared first on The Source.