By Marlene LenthangNBC
News
Black and Latina female soccer players were booed with monkey-like noises and barking during a student championship game in California, behavior condemned by the state's high school athletics governing body as "unacceptable" and by the team's coach as "blatant racism"
The heckling took place Saturday during the Northern California championship between Buchanan High School in Clovis and Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills.
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The tension-filled game ended in a penalty shootout, Buchanan women's soccer coach Jasara Gillette said in a statement.
It was then that boos were heard coming from the stands.
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"Our third kicker, who is of African-American descent, was subjected to noises and monkey gestures coming from the Oak Ridge grandstand while taking her PK (penalty kick). The player who preceded her, who is Hispanic, was barked at," Gillette said.
NBC, Telemundo's sister news network, tried to contact spokesmen for Oak Ridge for comment but as of Tuesday no response had been forthcoming.
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However, the school's principal told NBC News affiliate KCRA in Sacramento that, at the time, "it was impossible to determine who had made the noise," and that the matter was discussed by referees, an administrator from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and representatives from both schools.
They all decided to go ahead with the game, said director Aaron Palm.
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Oak Ridge ended up winning the championship.
"Our players were physically and emotionally shaken after the incident and were not attended to. This gave our rival a huge competitive advantage and directly influenced the end of the match."
Gillette said.
Palm, who said the student behind the heckling "is being held accountable," added in a statement that the
"incident disgusts our learning community and shames our entire school.
There is no place for this type of individual behavior in anywhere in society.
Officials have not stated what punishment the student will face, but the El Dorado Union High School District said "the school will take full disciplinary action as permitted by education code."
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The district also stated that officials at Oak Ridge High School are in contact with Buchanan and the CIF and "formal apologies are being made."
Additionally, they will have discussions about the incident in "every Oak Ridge classroom this week" to "take action and do everything to prevent even more incidents like this."
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The Clovis Unified School District, which oversees Buchanan High School, said it is "outraged by racial slurs used by an Oak Ridge High School fan," and a complaint was filed with the CIF.
Efforts to contact Buchanan High School officials were also unsuccessful.
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The CIF denounced the heckling, saying in a statement that it "prohibits discrimination or any act that is disrespectful or demeaning toward a federation member school, student-athlete or school community."
The governing body added that it is "unacceptable for those attending a game to undermine all the hard work that students and athletes have put in to participate in a championship event."
The statement did not mention whether the IFC planned to take any action.