An announcer at a high school girls’ basketball game in Oklahoma was kicked out at halftime for describing the opposing players’ names as “disgusting.”
The announcer at Newkirk High School, who has not been identified, can be heard on footage posted to social media Friday by the mother of a player from Crooked Oak High School in Oklahoma City.
“Now their names are pretty disgusting, but I’m going to try to call them out,” he says before introducing the Crooked Oak athletes, the video shows.
The shocking comment left at least one spectator stunned and several of the players now calling for a direct apology, KOCO reports.
“What did he just say?” one woman can be heard on the footage. “No, he didn’t just say that.”
Newkirk Public Schools Superintendent Brady Barnes released a statement apologizing and saying the announcer was replaced at halftime.
“In around 20 years of announcing Newkirk games, this is the first time something like this has occurred,” the statement read. “While he did not make any similar comments, I made the decision to replace him at halftime of the girls’ basketball game.”
“We sincerely apologize for any pain or affront our announcer’s comment has caused Crooked Oak players, parents, patrons and school employees,” the statement continued.
Crooked Oak nevertheless went on to beat Newkirk to win its first district championship in more than 20 years, but two players have yet to receive direct apologies, they told KOCO.
The Crooked Oak girls’ varsity basketball teamLorna Pollard“It should be a very big accomplishment, but it’s kind of getting taken away from us by something we had no control over, something as simple as having different names,” one girl told the station.
Lorna Pollard, whose daughter plays for Crooked Oak, later posted on Facebook that Barnes’ apology was insufficient.
“Whether this comment was racist or not … intentional or not the point is it was hurtful to children and it is not OK,” Pollard wrote on Sunday. “I do not feel that a quiet apology is suitable for a public humiliation.”
After the game, Pollard identified five of the Crooked Oak players in a separate post: Haley Lloyd, Jaiana Wiggins, Itzel Cedillos, Iyanba Freeman and Esme Castañeda.
“Beautiful girls … beautiful names!” the post read.
