'Disrespectful And Racist': Community Demands Action After Taunts By Lincoln-Way East Students At Game

FLOSSMOOR, IL — Residents are demanding answers—and action—from Lincoln-Way East High School after a group of its fans were seen making implicitly racist taunts toward Homewood-Flossmoor High School students Friday.

The incident—captured on video by several in the stands during the two teams' varsity game Friday—showed five students mimicking the movements and sounds of monkeys, flapping their arms and crawling on the ground.

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The harassment happened near the end of the 3rd quarter. Students present said the visiting fans also called them monkeys before Homewood-Flossmoor HS staff removed them from the property, school administration said.

Videos were shared on social media and were widely circulated within hours, sparking rage and disdain across the community. The incident also led to the cancelation of the two teams' sophomore game on Saturday.

Both schools have issued statements on the incident, with Homewood-Flossmoor High School administration calling it "a very bad choice to engage in disrespectful and racist harassment towards HF students seated in the bleachers.

"We want to commend our staff who acted swiftly and safely removed those individuals from our property and helped our students remain in the bleachers and safe," said Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Norrell, and Principal Dr. Clinton Alexander.

The administrators said school leadership and the district's board of education are working with Lincoln-Way East leadership and local authorities as they "consider all options to protect against this in the future, including legal options."

Lincoln-Way District 210's statement called the incident "inappropriate and offensive behavior," also stressing that the students involved are not members of the school's football team.

"We would like to sincerely apologize to the HF community for the behavior displayed by these students," the district's statement reads. "This behavior does not reflect the expectations and standards we have for Lincoln-Way students. The district is taking this matter seriously. We have identified the students involved and will follow through with the district's discipline policies and procedures to the fullest extent."

In a statement provided to WGN, the IHSA decried the fans' behavior.

"The IHSA strongly condemns the racist actions that were perpetrated by a small number of Lincoln-Way East High School students in attendance at its football game against Homewood-Flossmoor High School on September 4," the statement reads. "High school sports are defined by community and camaraderie, and every high school student-athlete in Illinois deserves to compete in a safe and respectful environment. These values are requisite to remain a member in good standing of the IHSA, and the Lincoln-Way East administration has affirmed that they recognize the serious nature of this situation and are acting accordingly. We will be working with both schools to make sure an appropriate resolution is reached and to be a resource in any way that we can."

Amid the fallout, parents are calling for action by both Lincoln-Way East and the IHSA.

"The IHSA should become involved and decisive action should be taken," one parent said on social media. "There is zero tolerance for this level of hateful behavior in our schools and there should be disciplinary action immediately."

"As a LW parent reading about this, I want to say thank you so much to the HF community for your incredible and swift response to this horrid behavior," a Lincoln-Way District 210 parent commented on Homewood-Flossmoor High School's social media. "I also want to send a huge thank you to the affected HF students; your courage, respect, and restraint in the face of such hate is remarkable, and you showed incredible maturity by not stooping to their level.

"There is absolutely no excuse for this behavior. Speaking as a parent, I would be completely mortified and furious if my child ever did something like this—they would be facing severe consequences at home. I love the idea of community service, but let's take it a step further: they should be required to volunteer directly within the HF community. These kids desperately need to face the reality of their actions, step out of their bubble, and open their eyes to the real world, which won't respond so restrained in the future. This behavior is disgraceful."

Another parent said that the school has seen racist behavior from Lincoln-Way District 210 fans for years.

"... This is just the first time folks have managed to capture video evidence of it," the parent wrote. "So thank you to the students who documented this last night so this shame can finally be made public — and believed.

"I have been told that we cannot ban their spectators from future games because of IHSA rules. If that is true, and we cannot force IHSA to take action to protect our students, we need HF administrators to do everything WE can to protect our students."

The woman suggested that restrictions should be placed on spectators from the district.

"LWE spectators should be permanently restricted to their stands and their stands only going forward and not allowed access to any other areas of our stadium or campus," she said. "And all minors from LWE should be required to show student ID's for entry and be required to be accompanied by their parents at all times while on the HF campus. Enough is enough. HF students deserve to be safe from racist abuse on their own campus and at school sponsored events and sports games."

Homewood-Flossmoor High School administrators said they will offer guidance and support to the student body this week on how to navigate emotions around the incident.

"We as an HF Community are an example for how to live and thrive as a community of diverse individuals," they said. "We want to remain the model and also a model for how we respond to those who attempt to disrespect and ultimately distract us from our goals. It is imperative that we communicate with our students how not to respond in ways that may jeopardize their future or safety. Instead, we must respond with continued excellence and forge ahead into an even greater future. We will not allow this ignorance to distract us from our commitment to excellence and our long history of inclusion and racial respect in our community at-large. We also will not tolerate this type of racism and disrespect towards members of our HF Community."