LWE Girls' Cross Country Coach, Team Accused Of Racist Taunts Toward H-F Runners: School

FLOSSMOOR, IL — The Homewood-Flossmoor High School administration on Tuesday said the school's girls' cross-country team encountered more racist taunts from another Lincoln-Way East High School team, just a day after a similar incident at a football game.

The incident on Saturday—the day after Lincoln-Way East fans mimicked monkeys in taunts directed at Homewood-Flossmoor fans during the teams' varsity football game—involved the schools' girls cross-country teams, Homewood-Flossmoor administration said. The teams had been competing at an invitational that day.

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"Three HF athletes shared a description of one of the LWE coaches making comments about running 'past those monkeys' to the LWE team in the starting box directly adjacent," the school said. "The athletes then reported that some of the team began cheering and making 'noises that were racist' and 'monkey gestures.'"

Homewood-Flossmoor High School leadership on Monday evening contacted Lincoln-Way East.

"It was reported that the coach in question stated she was sharing with the LWE runners that they call that event the 'Jungle,' and the HF team must have misunderstood what was said," Homewood-Flossmoor officials said.

A parent present at the invitational Saturday told Patch Tuesday that the school's account of the incident was inaccurate and that any comments were misinterpreted. The Lincoln-Way East team was unaware of Friday's incident at the time of the event, the parent said. The area in which the girls were running is heavily wooded, the parent said, with many referring to it as "The Jungle."

Homewood-Flossmoor High School administration said it plans to pursue legal action in the incident on Saturday, as well as the incident at Friday's football game.

"HF Community High School District wants all of our families to know, we do not take racial harassment incidents lightly," they said. "We are a community built on excellence and we will continue to stand together—with pride, respect, and with unwavering support for our students, staff and faculty."

Lincoln-Way District 210 Superintendent Dr. Scott Tingley said Tuesday that they were speaking with the athletes involved and would provide a statement once the investigation is complete.