Racism From Pearl River Against Nyack Again During Athletic Event

NYACK, NY — Nyack High School and the community that supports it are once again grappling with racist slurs directed at their athletes from students in neighboring Pearl River.

Last time, Nyack officials had to demand that Pearl River officials respond. This time, reaction was swift from both school districts.

"I’d like to address recent anti-Black remarks made by our students during scheduled athletics events with Nyack Public Schools this month," Pearl River school Superintendent Dr. Marco Pochintesta said in a letter to his community on Wednesday. "These offensive and unacceptable actions are hurtful and have led to serious consequences for those responsible."

Nyack School Superintendent Eudes S. Budhai and the Board of Education issued a statement Wednesday telling the community that district officials were exploring all legal recourse possible and all options available through Section 1 Athletics and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

The object is "to safeguard athletes from any future acts of racism and emotional harm," he said. "We thank the Nyack/Valley Cottage community for continuing to support our athletes and all of our courageous, resilient students through this tremendously challenging period."

This time, it was at a middle-school track meet.

The last time it happened, it was a basketball game. Players and spectators were shocked by taunts that could be clearly heard in a video posted on Twitter by a Nyack fan account. SEE: Nyack Demands Probe Of Pearl River's Racist Taunts At Game

It's apparently a recurring problem for Pearl River: by the time of the game in February, there had already been five reported hate incidents at Pearl River High School, The Journal News reported.

Now Pearl River is speeding up the formation of an Equity Task Force, which the Board of Education approved creating in April to ensure that the district provides "Schools and classrooms where all students feel safe, welcomed and accepted regardless of their race, religion, identity, cultural background, and/or ability/disability."

"While we have identified and held accountable the students involved, I know this behavior in no way reflects the true character of our school community and we have zero tolerance for such hateful thinking," Pochintesta said in his letter. "We are reminded that we all have an obligation to not only confront racism when it occurs, but also to implement programs and allocate appropriate resources to prevent its continuation in our district. We must reiterate how absolutely essential it is to the core values of our school community that all persons be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

"The work of addressing these incidents is challenging and necessary," Pochintesta said in his letter to the community. "However, our greatest challenge and best path forward in creating inclusive, safe and respectful environments in our schools and across our programs is recognizing and understanding what fuels this hateful behavior and what can be done to prevent it in the future."

SEE ALSO: Op-Ed: Racist Taunts Have No Place In Rockland