Alleged Slurs At High School Soccer Game Being Investigated

PITTSBURGH, PA - The WPIAL is investigating charges by parents of Taylor Allderdice High School students that members of the boys soccer team were taunted with slurs during a recent match with Connellsville Area High School in Fayette County.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools filed a complaint with the WPIAL after parents started an online petition calling for action. “No student should be subjected to any racial slurs in a space that
is to encourage healthy competition, teamwork and camaraderie,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in a statement.

The alleged slurs occurred during a September 1 match, according to the Change.Org petition calling for people to confront racism in Western Pensylvania. The petition has received more than 2,700 signatures.

Parents allege that Connellsville players directed the slurs at one black and one Latino member of the Allderdice team. The slurs were not addressed and the Connellsville coach has denied any wrongdoing by his players, according to the petition.

"Although the racial abuse suffered by some of our players was despicable, it was by no means the only abuse levied on our boys," the petition asserted. " The Connellsville team also utilized forms of physical touching likely intended to distract or intimidate, which were beyond the bounds of appropriate conduct during a soccer match."

Parents also mentioned a 2018 incident also involving the Connellsville boys varsity soccer team in which players directed racially insensitive comments toward players during a match with Penn Hills High School