School cancels football season following racist video

A high school in California has canceled the rest of its football season after some players of the team were captured on video to "auction" off black teammates.

The mock slave auction happened at River Valley High School in Yuba City. The Yuba City Unified School District became aware of the video on Sept 29 and forfeited the remainder of the season and banned the involved team members from playing.

"The recording clearly demonstrates that this situation was orchestrated and organized, which underscores my concern that students spent time contemplating this terrible act without the slightest regard that this action is hateful and hurtful," Superintendent Doreen Osumi said in a statement to television station KCRA 3.

KCRA, among the first news outlets reporting this video, said it has obtained a copy of the video that has since been deleted. It said the video shows about a dozen students pointing and yelling dollar amounts at three black students standing in their underwear and up against a wall.

The district said it was investigating which players were involved. So far, it isn't clear how many students were involved and where the recording was shared.

"They may argue that it was a joke, and they intended no harm, but the fact is that this is not only harmful, it is disgraceful," said Osumi in the statement.

She said the district would work with River Valley's coaches on better training to "act with character and dignity at all times".

The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school sports in California, said it supports the school district administrators' decision "to promptly address the misconduct of their students".

Slavery is a dark chapter in American history, and racism still affects the society more than 150 years after the Civil War.

Mock slave auctions in schools have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Such incidents have been frequently reported across the country and some ended up in lawsuits.

In March, a black student was sold in a mock slave auction hosted by white students at an elementary school in Goldston, North Carolina. The mother of the student said in social media posts that her son told her one of his friends "went for $350" and another student was the slave master because he "knew how to handle them".

According to media reports, the students involved in selling their classmates received a one-day suspension, and the black student was harassed and assaulted for telling his mom about the incident.

In May, the parents of a 14-year-old student filed a federal lawsuit, claiming their black son was bullied with a mock slave auction and nooses.

They said their child had endured "months of hurtful, racist bullying" at the mostly white Church Hill Middle School in Church Hill, Tennessee.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com