Worcester Officials Address Social Media Comments Following Girls' Basketball Game

WORCESTER, MA — City officials in Worcester have released a statement following "racial comments" directed at a girls' high school basketball team earlier this month.

“We want to first recognize the exceptional achievement of both South High and Andover High School,” Mayor Joseph Petty, Worcester Schools Superintendent Brian E. Allen and the Worcester School Committee wrote in a joint statement.

The joint statement continued, "Unfortunately, following the game, social media posts emerged that depicted student-athletes in an utterly unacceptable manner…These actions overshadowed the girls’ opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments and included hateful, racial comments directed toward South High’s players by adults and individuals not affiliated with either district."

City officials did not cite specific comments made on social media, but said they were directed at members of the South High Community School girls' team.

Those comments surfaced after the team lost to Andover High School in a Mar. 6 game, the Boston Globe reported.

You can read the full statement from Worcester officials here.

Sen. Robyn Kennedy (D - 1st Worcester District) also weighed in on the situation, sharing a statement condemning the comments.

She wrote, "Following a recent girls basketball game, comments on a social media post about the game targeting Black players on the South High Team underscored a pervasive and undeniable truth: Racism persists and continues to reinforce marginalization and bias that echoes throughout systems, institutions, and our community."

Sen. Kennedy continued, "I stand unequivocally with the Black players on the South High basketball team, their families, their team members, their coaches, and all those who support them. I stand unequivocally with the Worcester NAACP, Councilor Khrystian King, the YWCA Central MA and all those who have spoken out. I will continue to stand with those who stand in solidarity and persistent action to challenge and dismantle racism and the targeting of our Black and Brown communities."

You can find Sen. Kennedy's complete statement here.

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