San Ramon Valley High Student Shouts Racial Slur At Basketball Game

DANVILLE, CA — San Ramon Valley High School leadership is apologizing and pledging action after a student shouted a racial slur against a Black Dublin High School basketball player Tuesday night.

“I am extremely disappointed to have to share that last night at our SRV basketball game against Dublin High School, some students in the student section of the SRV stands used racist language toward one of the Dublin players while he was taking a free throw,” SRVHS Principal Whitney Cottrell wrote in an email to families Wednesday that was co-signed by the school’s three assistant principals.

“I want to be clear that in no uncertain terms, racist language or racial slurs will not be tolerated, whether our students are in school or elsewhere,” Cottrell said. “We are all responsible for creating safe and welcoming spaces both at SRV and when we are guests at other schools. Appropriate disciplinary action is being taken, and we will be apologizing to the Dublin High School basketball team and community for this unacceptable and uncalled for behavior.”

Cottrell also encouraged families to “engage in conversation with your students about the damaging effects of slurs and biased language such as the n-word,” and said that she would work with school staff and student leaders to develop an action plan in the coming weeks.

On Thursday evening, Dublin High School Principal Maureen Byrne sent an email thanking SRVHS administration and coaching staff for “quickly sending a clear message and apology.”

Byrne said that DHS Coach Tom Costello brought the incident to her attention immediately, and SRVHS Coach Brian Botteen quickly addressed the situation at the site. Byrne added that the student responsible for the incident is no longer welcome at DHS events.

“In order to continue to be unified in the message that there is no place for hate at DHS, it is critical that we remain vigilant,” she wrote. “As we hold others accountable we must continue to monitor our community as well. Please be reminded that ANY language, words or actions that make a person or groups of people feel unsafe or targeted could be considered a hate crime. This includes derogatory comments regarding a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual preference and identification. Thank you, DHS, for continuing to support each other and celebrating each other’s beauty and uniqueness. That is who Gaels are and that is what Gaels do.”

On Thursday afternoon, Cottrell sent another email ahead of a game against Granada High School reminding students that name-calling, booing, and addressing any athlete directly is forbidden. Cottrell also said that extra staff would be on-hand, and asked parents and guardians to talk to their children before the game about being “upstanders,” or people who intervene when they see inappropriate behavior.

On Thursday night, SRVUSD Superintendent John Malloy wrote in an email that the event “[does] not reflect the values of our district and community, and we will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our schools.

“We are providing professional development for our staff, listening to our students and supporting their leadership to bring about change, and exploring ways to partner most effectively with parents/caregivers so that you can support these efforts at home,” Malloy wrote. “By working together, we can create the safe and welcoming learning environments that every student needs to be successful.”

The father of the Dublin High School player sent an email to Dublin school officials and the Bay Area News Group after learning about the incident, the Bay Area News Group reported.

“This is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly or dismissed,” the father wrote. “We believe there should be more PUBLIC awareness/story about this matter in order to really make a change.”

Byrne said in her email that the player’s mother said that, “This is not about shaming the individual who made the comment. This is about change, education, and empathy.”