This article, originally published at 3:47 p.m. Dec. 15, 2023, was updated at 4:18 p.m. Dec. 15, 2023, to incorporate a statement from an MCPS spokesman.
A Walt Whitman High School basketball fan called a Northwood High School player a racial epithet at a varsity boys’ game Dec. 8 at the Bethesda school, a parent alleged to school officials.
The incident occurred the same day that a Whitman student found a swastika drawn on a desk at the school, MoCo360 reported earlier this week.
Whitman has launched an investigation, alerted the school district’s Office of School Support and Well-Being and notified Montgomery County police about the alleged use of the anti-Black slur, Whitman Principal Intern Gregory Miller wrote in a letter Tuesday to the school community. This week, the school has also been implementing lessons on a culture of respect, he wrote.
“The use of hate speech or bullying and harassment is unacceptable at Walt Whitman High School and students who engage in this form of misconduct are subject to disciplinary consequences in accordance with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct,” Miller wrote. “Students and student-athletes expect and deserve a physically and emotionally safe environment. We remain steadfast in our commitment to foster an anti-biased school culture and to eliminate hate and bias in all its forms and directed at any group or individual.”
A Northwood parent on Saturday alerted Northwood coaches and administrators that a Whitman fan had called their child, a Northwood basketball player, the “n—–” slur, Miller wrote. He said such verbal abuse would conflict with Montgomery County Public Schools’ Student Code of Conduct, its Student Culture of Respect policy, and MCPS Athletics’ “R.A.I.S.E.” values of respect, sportsmanship, integrity and character.
He advised that, “It is imperative that parents have meaningful discussions with their children about the impact of hate speech. Racial slurs, hate-based jokes, and perpetuating demeaning stereotypes cause significant harm to our students and our school environment.”
In the last year, and particularly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, Whitman and MCPS in general have seen increasing numbers of antisemitic incidents. Yet school data released in March show that nearly half of hate incidents at MCPS that school year were race-based.
Superintendent Monifa McKnight announced in a presentation Thursday evening that the fiscal 2025 budget would prioritize addressing hate-bias and would use an $870,000 grant from the statewide Stronger Connections toward that end.
The lessons this week at Whitman on culture of respect were to address “signs of bullying/cyberbullying, harassment (including sexual harassment), hate-bias incidents, hazing, intimidation, and student gender norms,” Miller wrote.
His letter reiterated that fans may not comment on players’ identity, clothing or features—and that doing so would result in “immediate removal from the game for the remainder of the season.”
“We will be communicating these expectations once again to our students at our Winter Pep Rally this Friday, December 15, 2023,” he wrote.
The Black & White first reported on the alleged racial slur on Thursday.
Chris Cram, director of the district’s communications office, said in a statement, “Words or actions that serve to demean anyone else are not the values of our school system; instead, characteristics of respect and equity for all are expected. When an instance of hate or bias occurs, it is a teachable moment to set expectations for appropriate behavior, and sometimes, that means discipline in alignment with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct.
“This is one reason we apply restorative justice practices; as superintendent, Dr. McKnight said last evening, ‘…81% of students who engaged in restorative justice did not repeat the violation.’”’ The district staff also works daily to instill positive character traits, such as respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship and trustworthiness. This is MCPS.”