By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide
VIRGINIA BEACH
Dr. Eric Majette, Virginia Beach NAACP president, and the Rev. Gary McCollum said they are investigating and monitoring bullying and racism allegations made against the Kempsville High School baseball team
Both leaders said it is unclear if they will seek more information at the next school board meeting at the end of the month but the allegations have led to the cancellation of the team’s games for the rest of the season.
According to WTKR-TV, the allegations date back to discriminatory claims that a local mother said her son experienced. He experienced racial slurs from his teammates, including the n-word.
“This was not just one incident,” said McCollum. “This was a pattern of things that happened at the school. From what we’re hearing now is that there are others in the community who’ve experienced this same kind of treatment.”
Some incidents were joking while others were not, the local mother said.
An official national study on soccer titled Kick It Out reported it received a record number of claims of discriminatory behavior during the 2022/23 soccer season. Baseball researchers, however, have not yet compiled comprehensive discriminatory studies.
Specifically, the most recent Kick It Out (soccer) study, which began in 1993, reported a 65 percent increase compared to the previous year and includes discriminatory incidents from the professional game, social media and grassroots soccer.
“I don’t think anyone should make any kind of racial jokes against anyone,” said Majette.
McCollum told WTKR-TV, “At the end of the day, it’s bullying. That’s what it is. It’s racial hate.”
