Maryland Considering Move To Ban Use of Racial Epithets
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Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association and the Maryland attorney general's office are drafting an amendment to the MPSSAA Code of Conduct that would prohibit the use of racial slurs during the course of competition.
The revision comes in response to a football game last Sept. 19 between Dunbar of the District and Fort Hill of Cumberland, Md., in which the visiting Crimson Tide walked off the field in the middle of the third quarter, after alleging its players were repeatedly taunted with racial epithets, a charge Fort Hill steadfastly denied.
"I'm glad. I'm happy they've taken a stand on it," Dunbar Coach Craig Jefferies said when informed Wednesday afternoon about the proposal, which was first reported by the Washington City Paper. "But it goes both ways. We can't use it either. I tell my players that all the time."
A spokesman for the attorney general's office said the changes to the code of conduct will be "part of a broader scope that says we want team spirit and players behaving appropriately."
The proposed amendment will be presented to the MPSSAA's Executive Council on Sept. 3.
"I support it 100 percent," Fort Hill Athletic Director Paul Green said. "I'm glad that it's in there. We're all going to be in favor of that."
The 2008 incident touched off a fiery discourse between the two communities, each determined to prove its innocence. Tensions flamed further after D.C. Public Schools officials decided not to let McKinley go ahead with a scheduled game at Fort Hill on Oct. 3 and also denied Fort Hill's request to play the game in the District.
