HS Football: Dunbar forfeits to Fort Hill Citing Racial Taunts (10-02 WP Update)

[DCMONEY]

You know, I posted something similar to that earlier in the thread. But if things were indeed as hot as the Dunbar Coach claimed, I think it was a smart move on his part to pull his team. If he allows things to escalate, then both teams are all over the media and he gets fired for not taking action.

Exactly. As I've stated before, Coach Jefferies in all the years I've seen Dunbar play doesn't run from a loss. Ist off i'll say again. They were winning. But lets say they were losing. The loss would have no bearing on Dunbar's season in terms of their league play. I've coached before and I've helped coach. I've never had to deal with racial slurs. I can't say how I'd feel or react if this was actually going on. It would be hard for me to control my emotions let alone to tell the kids don't pay attention to it. The word has so much history and hatred behind it. I've never had anyone throw a racial slur my way when I was playing. But I could see me and my team mates getting heated over it. Back when I was coming up I know my coach couldn't have contained some of the cats that were on my team if that thing kept building. I think Jefferies did what he thought was best.

[cyfar]

You don't throw out the racial slur accusation for what you think you may have heard. You better damn well KNOW you heard it.

I think there was a misquote.

[Clinton "F'n" Portis]

I am not sure what happened and I am not making any judgment until all the facts come out.

However, I am doing several "role reversals" in my mind. For one, what if Fort Hill came to the city - and Dunbar was making racial slurs towards them and the same thing happened?? Could it be possible that there would be no witnesses then?? An investigation with no evidence to support it??

Most of my friends went to Cooley, Roosey or Ballou High Schools in the city. If this were the case I can see some of them stomping helmets, throwing helmets, etc. And I can also understand the Coach pulling them off if this is in fact the case to stop a potential "riot" on the field from happening.

[dreamingwolf]

Another D.C. public high school football team, McKinley, is scheduled to play at Fort Hill on Oct. 3, but McKinley Coach Cornell Simms said yesterday that his school is weighing whether it should opt out.

Simms said the two schools signed a one-game contract three weeks ago, after Appel noticed the two schools shared an open date. Simms said the contract calls for McKinley to be paid $3,000 for the game but that it has no-penalty clause if McKinley does not show up.

"We have to look at the ramifications of what transpired there," McKinley Athletic Director Wanda Oliver-McKenzie said. "We certainly will not knowingly put our students in danger. We will make a decision, but only after all the facts are reviewed and consequences weighed."

This part is what I find interesting "Simms said the contract calls for McKinley to be paid $3,000 for the game but that it has no-penalty clause if McKinley does not show up. ". I never knew there was an exchange of money between schools for football games.

Now what if the root of all this is the Dunbar coach durring a meaningless game just got sick of the officating and left, and when asked why he just tossed out the race card to give an easy answer.

After all, he already got his athletic department the money, the game is absolutely meaningless to him in his league, and if your displeased with the officating why risk injuring your players in a meaningless game that the refs are throwing.

[DCMONEY]

I am not sure what happened and I am not making any judgment until all the facts come out.

However' date=' I am doing several "role reversals" in my mind. For one, what if Fort Hill came to the city - and Dunbar was making racial slurs towards them and the same thing happened?? Could it be possible that there would be no witnesses then?? An investigation with no evidence to support it??

Most of my friends went to Cooley, Roosey or Ballou High Schools in the city. If this were the case I can see some of them stomping helmets, throwing helmets, etc. And I can also understand the Coach pulling them off if this is in fact the case to stop a potential "riot" on the field from happening.[/quote']

Exactly. If Fort Hill was at Dunbar and hearing racial slurs or whatever. Would Fort Hill coach be wrong for pulling his players off the field because he thought something might pop off? Would he be viewed as looking for a way out if they were winning? Or would everyone just take his word for it? Just wondering.

[Heisenberg]

They're talking about this on the John Thompson Show on 980 right now.

[ccsl2]

They're talking about this on the John Thompson Show on 980 right now.

John Thompson always breaks it down even further and makes sense of it.

The best line he said was: "The administrators never hear the alleged racial remarks". And I think he has A LOT credibility on this issue.

[Heisenberg]

John Thompson always breaks it down even further and makes sense of it.

The best line he said was: "The administrators never hear the alleged racial remarks". And I think he has A LOT credibility on this issue.

Yeah, I don't like JT's views on somethings and have disagreed with him in the past. He's absolutely right in this case though - don't villify the entire community or school based on the actions on a few. Deal with the ignorant people and move on.

Based upon the accounts of accounts of Dunbar kids crying and the racial problems the school has had in the past - combined with Dunbar having the lead when they left the field leads me to believe there had to be something to this story, doesn't mean the entire community there needs to be villfied though.

[ccsl2]

Yeah, I don't like JT's views on somethings and have disagreed with him in the past. He's absolutely right in this case though - don't villify the entire community or school based on the actions on a few. Deal with the ignorant people and move on.

Based upon the accounts of accounts of Dunbar kids crying and the racial problems the school has had in the past - combined with Dunbar having the lead when they left the field leads me to believe there had to be something to this story, doesn't mean the entire community there needs to be villfied though.

I agree with you on that. Something happened, we don't know what it was. But I guess it was better served that the coach pulled his team off the field than be a part of a riot.

[Predicto]

Both sides can not possibly be correct in this situation. One side accused the other side of using racial slurs. Either they used them or they didn't.

I disagree. Dunbar could have had one player who mistakenly thought he heard racial slurs and he told his teammates, and they got all angry and they told the coach, etc.

Or Fort Hill could have has a player or two saying racial slurs, but the ref and his own coaches didn't hear him, so they "didn't hear anything" etc.

There are lots of possibilities other than "one side is just lying."

[TheHumanHitstick#21]

The best line he said was: "The administrators never hear the alleged racial remarks". And I think he has A LOT credibility on this issue.

It is football after all, refs or "administrators" may not have heard these slurs if they occured in piles. I AM NOT saying these slurs were used but if they were this might be a reason why the refs didn't hear them, so no one needs to jump on me for being an irrational a-hole like before

[lovetoaster]

I disagree. Dunbar could have had one player who mistakenly thought he heard racial slurs and he told his teammates, and they got all angry and they told the coach, etc.

Or Fort Hill could have has a player or two saying racial slurs, but the ref and his own coaches didn't hear him, so they "didn't hear anything" etc.

There are lots of possibilities other than "one side is just lying."

There are a lot of possibilities of what could have happened, and we will probably never know the specifics.

I remember a coach that accused a team of using racial slurs and some really terrible things. When it started to get investigated seriously, it came out that the coach had made everything up to incite his team. Incredible.

DISCLAIMER: In this situation, I am not in any way accusing the Dunbar coach of doing this, because I think it is disgusting and I don't think he would ever do that. But it just goes to show that things are not as simple as they seem sometimes.

[Hiro]

Is it just me, or do people need to be a little less sensitive? I understand that derogatory words have a ton of bad meanings, but that's what comes with a country with free speech. If anything, Dunbar should've taken that anger and pounded the crap out of Fort Hill, instead of just kinda walking away.

[cyfar]

I disagree. Dunbar could have had one player who mistakenly thought he heard racial slurs and he told his teammates, and they got all angry and they told the coach, etc.

Or Fort Hill could have has a player or two saying racial slurs, but the ref and his own coaches didn't hear him, so they "didn't hear anything" etc.

There are lots of possibilities other than "one side is just lying."

I've heard from several kids on the Dunbar team and they said that there was jawing back and forth. Then a few of the Fort Hill players started throwing out racial slurs. Which really isn't that far fetched if you take into account how teens/young adults are quick to drop a racial slur or two if they detect a hint of an accent in your voice on Xbox Live. I'm not going to say that I know the kids like family or anything but they wouldn't have any reason to lie to me about this type of thing. I didn't have any real judgement one way or another when I first hear about this, but the one question that kept running through my mine was: "Why would the coach just pull his team off of the field?" It's not like they were trying to protect some undefeated record or nothing the Tide is 0-4 after the forfiet. This is also due to the rough out of conference/state schedule that they have been playing.

Is it just me, or do people need to be a little less sensitive? I understand that derogatory words have a ton of bad meanings, but that's what comes with a country with free speech. If anything, Dunbar should've taken that anger and pounded the crap out of Fort Hill, instead of just kinda walking away.

The coach pulled his squad from the field to avoid a very ugly situation.

I just find it funny how many that have posted in this thread immediately refuted the claim by the Dunbar squad and attacked the coach or the players for being too sensitive. The 'big city boys coming to the small town' reference was pure comedy though.

[ChocolateCitySkin]

i dunno.. i got accused once by some crazy ***** of calling her a ****** when i was in high school... no-one took her side. most of the black students came and talked to the dean and said basically she was crazy and i wouldn't have said that...

so h_h my sympathy falls flat... why b.c. i had people stick up for me when i was accused... here there is a history...

[Teller]

I just find it funny how many that have posted in this thread immediately refuted the claim by the Dunbar squad and attacked the coach or the players for being too sensitive. The 'big city boys coming to the small town' reference was pure comedy though.

And here again, I think the motives of the "OMGZ, it HAS to be true, even without any SHRED of evidence" crowd is pretty clear too.

Was Fort Hill at the Ponderosa?

Was Fort Hill ****ing about the officiating before the game even happened?

Did Fort Hill cry and quit?

Did Fort Hill receive any WELL-DESERVED unsportsmanlikes during the game?

Again, I apologize for coming at this from a factual position, with EVIDENCE of what Dunbar players and coaches actually did.

Frankly your gut, and those of the "it's gotta be true, even though there's ZERO proof of OUR position" crowd is the true comedy.

(Or it would be, if it wasn't so sad.)

[Major Harris]

I just find it funny how many that have posted in this thread immediately refuted the claim by the Dunbar squad and attacked the coach or the players for being too sensitive. The 'big city boys coming to the small town' reference was pure comedy though.

i find the "it has to be true, why would they make it up?" crowd to be equally funny.

[Teller]

i find the "it has to be true, why would they make it up?" crowd to be equally funny.

Exactly.

Do they believe that African-Americans are inherently more trustworthy than whites? And if so, isn't that, in itself, a racist position to take?

[DCMONEY]

Is it just me, or do people need to be a little less sensitive? I understand that derogatory words have a ton of bad meanings, but that's what comes with a country with free speech. If anything, Dunbar should've taken that anger and pounded the crap out of Fort Hill, instead of just kinda walking away.

Main man I know this is a country of free speech but I tell you what. Where I come from your mouth can write a check that your behind can't cash. Running your mouth can get you dealt with. I've played football as well as some of the posters on this thread. I've never stepped across racial bounds to try and get in the other teams head. I've trash talked no doubt but I've never done it in a game. I've never had a person of another race say it to me in game let alone doing it over and over again. I'll say it again, I know the cats that I've played with in my day would've taken it to another level. And we had a stern coach he didn't go for nonsense. Knowing the tempermant of the guys that I played with, I think the game would've been over and a fight would've started. I'll say it again, Coach Jefferies teams have played majority white schools before and lost some of them. I've never known him to pull his team accusing another of racial slurs.

[Teller]

Hey, as long as we can mutually agree that anytime ANY person of ANY race feels insulted, they have the right to beat the other person's ass, I'm onboard. Consistency is all I've EVER asked for in a race thread.

[DCMONEY]

Hey, as long as we can mutually agree that anytime ANY person of ANY race feels insulted, they have the right to beat the other person's ass, I'm onboard. Consistency is all I've EVER asked for in a race thread.

Yeah you're right. If Dunbar woudl've done this, then they'd be wrong too.

[Teller]

Yeah you're right. If Dunbar woudl've done this, then they'd be wrong too.

I appreciate your consistency, but "too" still implies that something there's no evidence of, actually happened.

I would say if EITHER school did this it was wrong. But I don't see evidence that either did.

That's not to say that I don't respect your experience with Dunbar and Coach Jeffries. I believe what you've said about them to be true. I'm sure they don't have a history of walking off the field for no reason. That's a well-respected program, and you don't earn respect by quitting.

Conversely, I've watched both Cumberland teams play teams from all areas of the state, WV, VA, and DC; teams of all backgrounds, both racial and societal -- from "elite class" Sidwell Friends, to the "hardest" inner city schools. And not once have I seen a game stopped over racist allegations.

The way I see it, our personal experiences cancel each other out. I think your experience with Dunbar is entitled to just as much respect as mine with Fort Hill. But as far as this game goes, there are some things that can unequivocally be proven, and some that haven't been to date. That may change. But as of yet, it hasn't.

[cyfar]

That's okay, the rough city boys were just intimidated by those cornfed boys and just couldn't stand the thought of losing to this team. Oh and they felt like the should destroy their restaurant bathroom as well. /

[Teller]

That's okay, the rough city boys were just intimidated by those cornfed boys and just couldn't stand the thought of losing to this team. Oh and they felt like the should destroy their restaurant bathroom as well. /

Let's make it absolutely clear, that I used "cornfed country boys." The expression "rough city boys" is entirely yours, and I've made NO such reference at all to Dunbar. None whatsoever.

Also, if they didn't break the urinal, why are they paying for it? Hmmmm????

[PleaseBlitz]

Let's make it absolutely clear, that I used "cornfed country boys." The expression "rough city boys" is entirely yours, and I've made NO such reference at all to Dunbar. None whatsoever.

Also, if they didn't break the urinal, why are they paying for it? Hmmmm????

What does the urinal have to do with anything again?

Also, i would just like to be the first to coin the phrase "Urinalgate."