Dublin Principal Condemns Racial Slur At Basketball Game

DUBLIN, CA — Dublin High School Principal Maureen Byrne called a racist slur directed against a DHS player at a basketball game Tuesday night “hateful, uncalled for and not to be tolerated” in an email sent to families Thursday evening.

A student from San Ramon Valley High School directed a racial slur at a Black DHS player while he was shooting a free throw. 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. She added that the student responsible for the incident is no longer welcome at DHS events.

San Ramon Valley High School officials were quick to apologize and condemn the behavior.

“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.

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.”

Byrne thanked SRVHS administration and coaching staff for “quickly sending a clear message and apology.”

“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.”