January 1, Football Season Canceled Over Controversial “Slave Auction”

A high school in California canceled its season after a “disturbing” video surfaced showing the players acting out a “slave auction.”

“I received a copy of a recording of River Valley High School football team members acting out a reprehensible act of a slave auction,” Yuba City Unified School District Superintendent Doreen Osumi wrote in an email.

“The recording clearly demonstrates that this situation was orchestrated and organized, which underscores my concern that students spent time contemplating this terrible act without the slightest regard that this action is hateful and hurtful.”

The superintendent said that while the River Valley players “may argue that it was a joke, and they intended no harm, but the fact is that this is not only harmful, it is disgraceful.”

The students determined to be involved in the incident were kicked off the team. As a result, the varsity team didn’t have enough players to compete and had to cancel the rest of the season.

Osumi said that the players involved “violated our student athlete code of conduct which they all signed and committed to follow, and that will not be ignored or minimized.”

“Re-enacting a slave sale as a prank tells us that we have a great deal of work to do with our students so they can distinguish between intent and impact.  They may have thought this skit was funny, but it is not; it is unacceptable and requires us to look honestly and deeply at issues of systemic racism.  We know that corrective action may be required in accordance with policy, but it is education, honest, open discussions and instruction that will guide our students to realize that their choices and actions have consequences,” she said.

The superintendent said district and administration officials “are working in earnest to identify lessons and programs to help our student body learn from this situation.”

“When students find humor in something that is so deeply offensive, it tells me that we have an opportunity to help them expand their mindset to be more aware, thoughtful and considerate of others,” Osumi said.

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Sources: Fox 40 | The Sacramento Bee