A New Jersey school district is under fire after allegations of racial slurs being directed at players on the court during a girls basketball game that took place in Barnegat, NJ. A lawyer for the Lakewood Board of Education Michael Inzelbuch, told the Washington Post that one of the student-athletes alleged she was referred to as a “Black b-tch” and that her fellow teammate was called “homeless” and that she should go back to a shelter because her shoes weren’t meant for the sport.
Inzelbuch said the alleged incidents “reprehensible.”
“The fact that it was players and not fans makes it even worse. As reprehensible as (the racial comment) is, the other comment bothers me equally because a lot of these kids can’t afford certain things,” Inzelbuch went on to say.
The Lakewood Middle School basketball team of 19 mostly Black girls was up against a mainly white team 30 miles away at Russell O. Brackman Middle School when the incident took place on Jan. 12.
Inzelbuch says the first two quarters were played without any issue until the third quarter, when the students alleged the opposing team started teasing them.
“Many our kids come from poverty, so they don’t have basketball sneakers,” Inzelbuch shared. “They might be wearing different types of sneakers.” The girls’ coach wasn’t made aware of the event until after the game, when school officials were quickly notified.
Barnegat Superintendent Brian Latwis said the incident should’ve been presented to the coaches and referees during the game “so they could be addressed immediately” and not by going to the press.
“We take these allegations very seriously and have a detailed harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy in place,” Latwis said in an emailed statement.
“This type of alleged behavior is not tolerated, and we are working to determine the validity of these accusations. We would have preferred to address this matter directly and more immediately, rather than be notified about the filing of incident reports through the media.”
Latwis sent a letter to parents on Jan. 14 describing the results of the Barnegat district’s investigation.
“We were able to determine that several student spectators seated behind Barnegat’s team bench made offensive and insensitive comments,” the letter read. Latwis says those students will be disciplined.
Inzelbuch says the Lakewood district will be purchasing sneakers for 10 of the 19 girls on the team who did not own proper footwear.
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