EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — The El Dorado Union High School District is working alongside Oak Ridge High School to identify the person accused of making racist taunts during a championship soccer game.
The incident happened while the Oak Ridge High School girls soccer team played against the Clovis' Buchanan High School girls soccer team in the NorCal Championship in El Dorado Hills.
"Sadly, during the shootout part of the game, one individual from the Oak Ridge cheering section made a monkey sound while an African American student from Buchanan took a shot," the El Dorado Union High School District said in a statement.
In a statement posted to Facebook, Jasara Gillette, head coach for Buchanan Girls Soccer, said a Hispanic player was also barked at by someone.
"This does not reflect the players on the Oak Ridge team as we feel they displayed sportsmanship but to the officials who saw and heard blatant racism and decided to not take a stand against it. Our players were physically and emotionally upset after this incident. This gave a huge competitive advantage to our opponent and directly influenced the end of the game," Gillette said.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) told ABC30 that it "finds it unacceptable when those attending a game take away from all the hard work the student-athletes have put forth to participate in a championship event. The CIF prohibits discrimination or any acts that are disrespectful or demeaning toward a member school, student-athlete, or school community."
A full statement from the El Dorado Union High School District is available in the Facebook post below or by clicking HERE.
Gillette's full statement can be viewed below or by clicking HERE.
