Content warning: This article contains discussions of racism experienced by high school athletes.
On Oct. 16 from 6-8 p.m., the David Douglas community gathered to discuss the racism the David Douglas High School football team has been experiencing. During away games at Adrienne C. Nelson, Forest Grove, Sam Barlow, and Rex Putnam High Schools, players and coaches have faced racial slurs from opposing players and fans. These events were reviewed at the Oct. 16 meeting, which was held in David Douglas’ south cafeteria. The purpose of the meeting was to collect community feedback on how best to move forward. Participants included athletes, coaches, family members, school board members, district officials, Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) representatives, and legislators.
The group of around 80 split into smaller discussion groups which focused on four questions: “How can we address hate speech in athletics?,” “What do you need from OSAA?,” “What comes next?,” and “What do you need from us?” Community members shared a variety of opinions, but improved communication and stricter punishments were consistently mentioned. Ideas for punishment included the offending team automatically forfeiting the game, the players being banned temporarily or permanently, and fining the schools. So far, the only confirmed repercussion has been the suspension of a Barlow player who admitted they used a slur, according to a David Douglas coach at the event.
As investigations are still ongoing, it is unclear if further disciplinary action will be taken, but the offending schools have acknowledged the events. At Nelson, where a cake was thrown into the David Douglas stands and a JV2 football player reported hearing the N-word used on the field by the opposing team, spectator expectations were retaught to the entire school, staff supervision of games was increased, and leadership students reached out to David Douglas. In regard to discipline, “Although some of these investigations have led to direct student disciplinary action, some investigations have left [Principal Greg Harris] still unable to fully understand what happened or who was to blame,” according to an email sent to Nelson families.
Rex Putnam Principal Lajena Welch also emailed families, stating, “We are using this incident as an opportunity to reinforce our values and educate our students about the impact of their words and actions. … We have also partnered with the administration from the opposing school to ensure a commitment to action and to facilitate open communication moving forward.”
In Forest Grove, a message was sent to all families in the district. It references a social media post that alleges an individual in the Forest Grove High School parking lot used racist language towards a David Douglas coach after the Sept. 6 football game. The individual is currently unidentified, but the email asserts that “The Forest Grove School District stands firm in our commitment to create a school environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive and that supports the diversity of our student population and our community as a whole.”
OSAA is in communication with all involved schools and districts as they work to investigate the incidents. According to an OSAA communications representative, “These types of behaviors are unacceptable and simply have no place in high school sports; they will not be tolerated.”
As for the immediate response, David Douglas Director of Communications Aidé Juárez Valerio stated that when players reported racial slurs being used against them, coaches informed the contest officials. Valerio added that after receiving such a report, officials must “stop the contest, bring coaches together to address the behavior and require that coaches immediately address their team on behavior expectations prior to resuming the contest, alert event management of what was reported, … remain vigilant throughout the rest of the contest, and address any further reports.”
However, coaches and players expressed frustration over the way officials handled the incidents. According to DJ, a football player at David Douglas, “The best they can do is add another [referee] for the remainder of the games.” Yet the community would like to see more of a response during the games and hope for a more diverse pool of referees. DJ elaborates that officials must hear the slurs to take further action, which is difficult considering how far players are from the referees. In addition, to some, it feels like there is a double standard where students of color receive ejections for on-field conduct that white students are not receiving. “They just see another team from Southeast Portland and think ‘They’re so ghetto,’” commented another player.
This frustration is not only in response to the most recent incidents but also due to racism from previous years. Erick Allen, a 2024 David Douglas graduate, is one of the victims from years prior. The racism he faced on the field was part of the reason he stopped playing football. He recalls a game against Sandy High School: “I was blocking one of the Sandy players who was white and I was pushing him out of bounds. He said to me, ‘Push me like that again and I will beat your ass you [N-word].” Allen informed his coach, who told the referee. The game was stopped and the players were talked to, but no one was ejected as there were no witnesses. Allen says, “David Douglas … told me they would follow up with me and never did … It made me feel that I was not heard [or] listened to and that pretty much it was okay for people to [be racist].” He emphasizes, “I just want to make it aware that this is not okay.”
Allen is not alone in his experiences. One community member was moved to tears as he remarked, “I went through this two years ago with my son.” The toll these events are taking on the community is clear. As another community member pointed out, “It’s hard enough to walk through the world as a young Black man,” and the impact of the incidents on players’ mental health is worrisome. DJ adds, “Being a person of color, [I have] been through this many times so I can handle it to an extent, but seeing my peers … start to quit … hurts me.”
Despite the years of racism, many community members expressed hope that the meeting could result in actual change. One coach discussed rewording House Bill 3409 to explicitly mention having teams forfeit the game if found to be participating in discriminatory acts. Currently, it requires interscholastic athletic organizations to have a policy that addresses instances of hate speech but does not specify what that policy should look like, according to documents from the Oregon legislature. Furthermore, Valerio highlighted that district officials will identify time for an additional community conversation. Representative Hoa Nguyen suggested that the meetings could be quarterly.
As the event came to a close, Senator Kayse Jama stated, “This is the beginning of something.” For the David Douglas community, the hope is that this is the beginning of their voices being heard and the end to the years of racism their athletes have faced.
