An announcer at an Oklahoma school women’s basketball game was caught during the broadcast, calling the girls on one of the teams a racial slur as they knelt during the national anthem.
In a video shared on Twitter, it does not appear that the announcers realized that their microphone is working. While Norman High School students were kneeling, one asked “Are they kneeling?”
“I hope Norman gets kicked,” continued an announcer. “F —— n ——.”
Norman Public Schools Superintendent Nick Migliorino said in a statement that advertisers on the National High School Federation (NFHS) National Network were hired by the Oklahoma High School Activities Association (OSSAA) to play the state tournament against the Midwest City College.
A statement from NFHS, sent to NBC News by the OSSAA’s Director of Sports Information, said the network was “disgusted by the comments”.
“The thoughts expressed in no way represent the NFHS Network and we are outraged that they found their way into our production,” said the statement. “The NFHS Network strongly condemns racism, hatred and discrimination, and there is no room for that in high school sports or anywhere.”
NFHS apologized to the students and their families, adding that the incident was being investigated and the announcers “would have no relationship with the NFHS Network in the future”.
Migliorino’s statement said that the district authorities “condemn and will not tolerate the disgusting words and attitudes of these speakers”.
“This type of hate speech has no place in our society and we are outraged that it is directed at any human being, especially our students,” said Migliorino. “We fully support our students’ right to freedom of expression and our immediate focus is to support these girls and their coaches and families, especially our black students and staff.”
He said Norman Public Schools would no longer be using the NFHS Network, but SportsTalk Media, “as we have full confidence in its proven ability to respectfully support our student athletes.”
Midwestern city high school district superintendent Rick Cobb said he hoped OSSAA would not use NFHS for the rest of the tournament and “review any future contracts they have for broadcasting school activities in our state. “
“Such a language is an affront to the classes we try to teach our students and the kind of world we all want to live in,” said Cobb, superintendent of the Mid-Del School District.
