McKinley Tech's Game At Fort Hill Postponed

D.C. public school officials have instructed the McKinley Technology High School football team not to play its game tomorrow at Fort Hill in Cumberland, Md. The decision comes in the wake of allegations that players from another District school, Dunbar, were taunted with racial epithets during a game Sept. 19 at Fort Hill, leading Dunbar Coach Craig Jefferies to pull his team from the field during the third quarter.

Fort Hill Athletic Director Paul Green said he received a call yesterday morning from Troy Mathieu, the DCPS director of athletics, telling him that McKinley would not come because the DCPS investigation into the Dunbar-Fort Hill game was not yet complete. The game technically is being postponed, though neither school has another open weekend before the end of the season.

"DCPS takes all allegations of inappropriate and racist behavior seriously, whether it is on or off the field," Dena Iverson, spokeswoman for Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, wrote in an e-mail.

Rhee could not be reached for comment.

The Office of Civil Rights in the Maryland attorney general's office began investigating the matter in the days following the game. According to Iverson, both schools will enter mediation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

A source familiar with the investigation confirmed "the principal parties" from both schools will enter mediation. The source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that none of the players involved would be part of the Department of Justice's action.

Jefferies said his players repeatedly were taunted with racial slurs, a charge denied by Fort Hill Coach Todd Appel. Appel said he asked his players about the matter, and all denied the allegations.

The source said DCPS officials are "fully behind" the account filed by Jefferies, and that Allegany County Schools Superintendent William J. AuMiller "is as adamant that his players are telling the truth."

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association has ruled that Fort Hill will be awarded a forfeit victory over Dunbar. MPSSAA Executive Director Ned Sparks said Dunbar's decision to walk off the field implied it was conceding the game, even though the Crimson Tide was ahead 14-8 with just more than four minutes left in the third quarter. Sparks added that the MPSSAA's investigation into the matter is ongoing.

"Part of it is, do we have some issues that need to be addressed?" Sparks said. "You don't want to take something like this and drop it. We need to get some sort of resolution."

Sparks said he is treating the McKinley-Fort Hill game as a postponement for now, and will wait to see if the game is played before deciding whether to award Fort Hill a forfeit victory.

Fort Hill submitted its internal investigation to the Allegany County Board of Education on Sept. 22.

Green said he received an e-mail containing McKinley's roster on Monday from the team's coach, Cornell Simms. "Everything we thought was over with," Green said, "and then I get this call. . . . We were all ready to go."

A DCPS source, who asked not to be identified because Rhee forbade employees from commenting on the matter last week, said the McKinley-Fort Hill game "was so close to [the Dunbar-Fort Hill game] that it just wasn't right yet."

The Allegany County Board of Education released a statement, which read, in part: "We are certainly disappointed that McKinley Tech has chosen not to play this game. It is our sincerest hope that they will reconsider and play. The Allegany County Public School System has encouraged communication and openly cooperated with the U.S. Justice Department and the Maryland Attorney General's office regarding this situation."