Lincoln-Way East Students Pulled From Bleachers for Racist Taunts at Homewood-Flossmoor Game
Five students from Lincoln-Way East High School were removed from the stands during a varsity football game against Homewood-Flossmoor High School on Friday night after video circulated showing them mocking rival fans with racist gestures and sounds.
The students, who attend the Frankfort public school, were pulled from the bleachers at the end of the third quarter, according to a letter sent to the Homewood-Flossmoor community by superintendent Dr. Jennifer Norrell and principal Dr. Clinton Alexander. The letter described the conduct as "disrespectful and racist harassment towards HF students seated in the bleachers."
Video shared on social media shows the group appearing to make monkey sounds, flap their arms and crawl on the ground while directing the behavior at Homewood-Flossmoor fans. Homewood-Flossmoor parent Vicky Carter told reporters the display upset her children directly.
"They were making monkey sounds, and they were flapping their arms like monkeys, and they were crawling like monkeys," Carter said. "It was very disturbing to my children."
Lincoln-Way East administrators confirmed none of the students involved play on the football team. In a statement, the district apologized to the Homewood-Flossmoor community and said the students had been identified.
"We would like to sincerely apologize to the HF community for the behavior displayed by these students," the statement read. "This behavior does not reflect the expectations and standards we have for Lincoln-Way students. The district is taking this matter seriously. We have identified the students involved and will follow through with the district's discipline policies and procedures to the fullest extent."
The district has not said what discipline, if any, the students will face.
Homewood-Flossmoor's superintendent and principal said the district is working with local authorities and the Board of Education to consider all options to protect against this in the future, including legal options. They said the school would continue communicating with students in the coming week about the incident and offer guidance on processing it.
"We as an HF Community are an example for how to live and thrive as a community of diverse individuals," the letter stated. "We will not allow this ignorance to distract us from our commitment to excellence and our long history of inclusion and racial respect in our community at-large. We also will not tolerate this type of racism and disrespect towards members of our HF Community."
Homewood-Flossmoor senior Danny Ruffin said he wants the students expelled and questioned whether criminal charges could apply.
"Hands down, expulsion," Ruffin said. "I don't know if there could be a criminal charge for hate speech or something like that."
Homewood-Flossmoor alum Destiny Watson connected the incident to the school's demographics, noting the student body is majority Black.
"The population at H-F is majority Black, and so mocking them in terms we have been called for years and in our history, it's not something that the kids these days should have to go through," Watson said.
The game fell on Homewood-Flossmoor's homecoming weekend. The class of 2016 held its 10-year reunion Saturday, and several of those graduates had attended the Friday game. Alum Sophia Osabuohien said the community does not intend to let the incident define the weekend.
"There's so much love. There's so much community that's happening right now that we're not going to let a video really deter or take away from that," Osabuohien said.
The Illinois High School Association issued a statement Saturday condemning the students' conduct. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said the organization is working with both schools toward a resolution.
"The IHSA strongly condemns the racist actions that were perpetrated by a small number of Lincoln-Way East High School students in attendance at its football game against Homewood-Flossmoor High School on September 4," Anderson wrote. "High school sports are defined by community and camaraderie, and every high school student-athlete in Illinois deserves to compete in a safe and respectful environment. These values are requisite to remain a member in good standing of the IHSA, and the Lincoln-Way East administration has affirmed that they recognize the serious nature of this situation and are acting accordingly. We will be working with both schools to make sure an appropriate resolution is reached and to be a resource in any way that we can."
Homewood-Flossmoor administrators said they plan to address the incident with students directly in the days ahead. Lincoln-Way East has not released a timeline for when discipline decisions against the five students will be finalized.
