Old White Goat
12-02-2004, 01:53 AM
[size=5]Taunts, jeers mar football rivalry[/size]
Near Boston, Mass..
Thursday, December 2, 2004
Melrose parents and school administrators were up in arms after the annual Thanksgiving Day football game at Wakefield High School, this year. And the final score had nothing to do with the controversy. Wakefield fans followed a pre-game incident by shouting cheers during the game that sounded to some like racial slurs, and then crowding Melrose buses after the game, taunting the departing players.
On Tuesday night in the Wakefield High School parking lot, Wakefield's three football captains set fire to holiday scarecrow decorations retrieved from their houses, while six other football players watched, according to Wakefield police. By the following day, fast-spreading rumors had the nine players burning top Melrose players, two of whom are black, in effigy.
"There were no Melrose shirts on them. There was no indication they were burning a Melrose player of any race," said Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith. Wakefield police do not plan to pursue charges against the participants, but Wakefield school officials reacted quickly, canceling a Wednesday pep rally and disciplining the players.
That did not stop Wakefield students and parents from exhibiting "a stampede of bad behavior" after the game, according to Melrose High School Principal Dan Burke. Burke said the fans' taunting of Melrose players, losers in the 7-3 battle, was the worst he had heard of in six years as principal, and said future games at Wakefield were in question as a result.
Among the taunts shouted by Wakefield fans during the game was one that raised suspicions of racism, "The 'A' train stops here." Melrose High football coach Tim Morris confirmed reports that Wakefield fans had shouted the slogan at Melrose players. Several Melrose parents and school officials said they took it as a slur against METCO students, who come to school by bus or train.
The "A" train, in the words of a Billy Strayhorn song, is the quickest way to get to Harlem, New York City's long-time black enclave. "A-Train" is also a common nickname for powerful running backs whose names start with A. However, Morris said there is no such player on the Melrose team.
Wakefield Superintendent of Schools Maynard Suffredini did not offer an alternative explanation for the slogan. He said as of Tuesday afternoon he had not heard any confirmation that fans had shouted "The 'A' train stops here."
Morris confirmed the reports Wednesday morning. Subsequently, Suffredini could not be reached for comment. Wakefield football coach Michael Boyages did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.
In 1996, Wakefield High School fired coach Ray Boghos, a 20-year veteran of the football coaching staff, after Boghos watched his team burn a gasoline-soaked scarecrow marked with the number of rival Reading's star running back, a black player.
Mattapan resident Cynthia Harris has a son enrolled in the METCO program at Wakefield High School, whom she said plays on the football team. She said her son likes Wakefield schools, which he has attended since elementary grades, and has few concerns about racism. However, her son also heard reports that the scarecrows burned on Tuesday night carried the numbers of Melrose's black players, she said.
Harris said in light of those rumors, she was surprised at the dismissive attitude she perceived among Wakefield parents. "The entire town just thinks these kids were out for an evening of fun and it's no big deal," she said. "My mission is to say to parents you need to teach your kids that these things do have an impact."
METCO Executive Director Jean McGuire said she began receiving complaints related to Tuesday night's incident on Thanksgiving day. She said she has not received anything in writing to indicate racism played a role, but she believes the incident is significant, nonetheless. "Symbols of lynching and labeling, they carry a lot of water," McGuire said. "And kids are not always aware of the implications of that."
Some Melrose parents say they are upset over the incident, whether it was racially motivated or not. "I don't care whether it's black, white or green," said high school parent Janis Webster. "It's an effigy."
Disciplinary measures taken in reaction to the scarecrow burning included canceling a Wednesday afternoon rally and a game-opening routine in which players are introduced individually as they run onto the field. Additionally, the three players who lit the scarecrows were stripped of their captaincy, and barred from playing for the first half of the game. Other involved players were barred from playing the first set of downs.
"I commend [high school officials] for the way they handled it," said Suffredini. "They involved everybody in it and they were under tight time parameters."
Suffredini said the pre-Thanksgiving rally is normally an important event for the departing class of seniors, who traditionally give roses to their parents at the rally.
Smith said as far as his office is concerned, the school's disciplinary measures close the case. "We've found no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing up there," he said. "This is strictly a school issue., and the school has dealt with it."
Coach Morris said no matter what the final outcome of the incidents surrounding the game, he takes pride in his players' performance both during and after the contest.
"My kids played their hearts out and acted with class, as they always do," Morris said.
Near Boston, Mass..
Thursday, December 2, 2004
Melrose parents and school administrators were up in arms after the annual Thanksgiving Day football game at Wakefield High School, this year. And the final score had nothing to do with the controversy. Wakefield fans followed a pre-game incident by shouting cheers during the game that sounded to some like racial slurs, and then crowding Melrose buses after the game, taunting the departing players.
On Tuesday night in the Wakefield High School parking lot, Wakefield's three football captains set fire to holiday scarecrow decorations retrieved from their houses, while six other football players watched, according to Wakefield police. By the following day, fast-spreading rumors had the nine players burning top Melrose players, two of whom are black, in effigy.
"There were no Melrose shirts on them. There was no indication they were burning a Melrose player of any race," said Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith. Wakefield police do not plan to pursue charges against the participants, but Wakefield school officials reacted quickly, canceling a Wednesday pep rally and disciplining the players.
That did not stop Wakefield students and parents from exhibiting "a stampede of bad behavior" after the game, according to Melrose High School Principal Dan Burke. Burke said the fans' taunting of Melrose players, losers in the 7-3 battle, was the worst he had heard of in six years as principal, and said future games at Wakefield were in question as a result.
Among the taunts shouted by Wakefield fans during the game was one that raised suspicions of racism, "The 'A' train stops here." Melrose High football coach Tim Morris confirmed reports that Wakefield fans had shouted the slogan at Melrose players. Several Melrose parents and school officials said they took it as a slur against METCO students, who come to school by bus or train.
The "A" train, in the words of a Billy Strayhorn song, is the quickest way to get to Harlem, New York City's long-time black enclave. "A-Train" is also a common nickname for powerful running backs whose names start with A. However, Morris said there is no such player on the Melrose team.
Wakefield Superintendent of Schools Maynard Suffredini did not offer an alternative explanation for the slogan. He said as of Tuesday afternoon he had not heard any confirmation that fans had shouted "The 'A' train stops here."
Morris confirmed the reports Wednesday morning. Subsequently, Suffredini could not be reached for comment. Wakefield football coach Michael Boyages did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.
In 1996, Wakefield High School fired coach Ray Boghos, a 20-year veteran of the football coaching staff, after Boghos watched his team burn a gasoline-soaked scarecrow marked with the number of rival Reading's star running back, a black player.
Mattapan resident Cynthia Harris has a son enrolled in the METCO program at Wakefield High School, whom she said plays on the football team. She said her son likes Wakefield schools, which he has attended since elementary grades, and has few concerns about racism. However, her son also heard reports that the scarecrows burned on Tuesday night carried the numbers of Melrose's black players, she said.
Harris said in light of those rumors, she was surprised at the dismissive attitude she perceived among Wakefield parents. "The entire town just thinks these kids were out for an evening of fun and it's no big deal," she said. "My mission is to say to parents you need to teach your kids that these things do have an impact."
METCO Executive Director Jean McGuire said she began receiving complaints related to Tuesday night's incident on Thanksgiving day. She said she has not received anything in writing to indicate racism played a role, but she believes the incident is significant, nonetheless. "Symbols of lynching and labeling, they carry a lot of water," McGuire said. "And kids are not always aware of the implications of that."
Some Melrose parents say they are upset over the incident, whether it was racially motivated or not. "I don't care whether it's black, white or green," said high school parent Janis Webster. "It's an effigy."
Disciplinary measures taken in reaction to the scarecrow burning included canceling a Wednesday afternoon rally and a game-opening routine in which players are introduced individually as they run onto the field. Additionally, the three players who lit the scarecrows were stripped of their captaincy, and barred from playing for the first half of the game. Other involved players were barred from playing the first set of downs.
"I commend [high school officials] for the way they handled it," said Suffredini. "They involved everybody in it and they were under tight time parameters."
Suffredini said the pre-Thanksgiving rally is normally an important event for the departing class of seniors, who traditionally give roses to their parents at the rally.
Smith said as far as his office is concerned, the school's disciplinary measures close the case. "We've found no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing up there," he said. "This is strictly a school issue., and the school has dealt with it."
Coach Morris said no matter what the final outcome of the incidents surrounding the game, he takes pride in his players' performance both during and after the contest.
"My kids played their hearts out and acted with class, as they always do," Morris said.