Fresh from our "WTH" file, police on Wednesday were investigating allegations that members of a high school wrestling team put a noose on a brown practice dummy, chained a black teammate to a locker and made racial remarks. The boy and his mother told police last week about the alleged May 4 incident, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"The district welcomes the investigation and is fully cooperating" with police, said a statement Wednesday from Tim Cuneo, superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
The teenager walked into the wrestling room at California's Santa Monica High School and allegedly found a brown practice dummy with a noose around its neck. He then went to the locker room to change but was grabbed by two white students who bound his pants to a locker with a cable and lock and made racial remarks, according to an account given to authorities that was cited by the Times Wednesday.
Santa Monica police Sgt. Richard Lewis told the Times that students could potentially face assault and battery charges.
The boy's mother, Victoria Gray, told the newspaper that the school never notified her of the alleged attack and she only learned about it from another parent on May 31.
A June 16 email to parents from Principal Hugo A. Pedroza called the alleged incident a "serious matter that warranted a swift and appropriate response." He said the students were suspended or received other discipline, while the entire wrestling team received sensitivity training, the Times said.
Seriously? If this incident happened, these kids need more than sensitivity training. What exactly do they mean by "racial comments"? We're still trying to figure out when "racial" became a substitute for "racist," but that's another story. We are wondering why folks think that nooses are acceptable. Although we try to resist speaking for the entire black Diaspora, we feel safe saying black folks worldwide do not like or want nooses anywhere near them. Feel free to add chains to that statement. These kids are the worst kind of bullies. Shaking our heads over here at The Root.
Read more at MSNBC.
In other news: Tia Mowry and Husband Welcome Son.