A Central Catholic baseball player used a racist slur before two varsity games this month, prompting the team to forfeit two later games and high school administrators to move all students to independent online learning for two days this week, a spokesperson for the school said late Sunday night.
This is a crazy overreaction, no matter what the slur was. Perhaps you suspend the player?
The player used the slur during a pre-game, players-only huddle at an April 9 game versus Lake Oswego High School and again before an April 10 game versus Gresham High School, the spokesperson said.
It’d be nice if other players maybe talked to this player then maybe the coach so that, you know, actual personal growth could occur.
The language was “offensive, harmful, and in direct conflict with who we are as a school community,” spokesperson Jeanie-Marie Price said via email. “We are especially mindful of the harm this has caused to our Black students, families, and community members, and we are taking steps to address it with care and accountability.”
What harm is that? Do you think minorities have never been called slurs before? Do you think a word, whatever the word might be (though I think we all know what it is now), is so shocking to the sensibilities that it renders people unable to function. The view of minorities as so incredibly enfeebled that they couldn’t possibly tolerate this sort of thing is as racist as the language itself, and actually has more real-world consequence in terms of what you’re teaching students.
Central Catholic administrators have canceled in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday. The goal is to give faculty and staff time to “respond to our students’ needs with care, clarity and confidence” before students return to campus on Wednesday, Price said.
One day is simply not enough! The power of language is such that two days are required before the adults in the classroom can figure out how to respond appropriately.
Good grief. This response is wholly embarrassing.
A Central Catholic teacher started an online petition on Change.org calling for the team to forfeit the rest of their season, according to screenshots of the petition shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive.
But not long after the petition went live, the teacher posted that he was being “pressured to take this petition down for my own safety and the safety of others,” according to the screenshots.
So dueling contemptuous actions. Excellent.
Central Catholic, in inner Southeast Portland, has about 860 students – about 37% of whom are students of color. Tuition at the private high school runs about $18,800 annually.
As a private school, Central Catholic can of course manage their affairs however the see fit. But on the basis of all this, I wouldn’t send a kid there if they paid me. The so-called adults seem thoroughly untrustworthy when it comes to navigating turbulent waters.