The mother of a Wiggins, Mississippi high school student who was allegedly assaulted with a noose discusses how she initially learned of the incident.
According to a previous Atlanta Black Star report, the incident occurred on Oct. 13 at Stone High School. During a short break at football practice, her son was reportedly approached from behind by four white players with a noose. His teammates allegedly put the noose around his neck and yanked him back.
In an Oct. 27 NBC News interview, the victim’s mother, Stacey Payton, tells reporters that she was told by the sheriff’s deputy to remain silent.
“I know this boy,” Payton says the deputy told her. “I know his father is an ex-cop and they both have real problems … This was something I couldn’t sit on. I cannot look my child in the eye, you know, five years from now, 10 years from now, and explain to him why I didn’t stand up for him, why I did not fight for him.”
As her son prepared to tell her about the incident, she initially thought he had issues with his grades. However, she learned that the situation was much worse. She tells reporters that when she came into her office, Payton saw that her son was shaking. The high school sophomore instructed his mother not to panic before retelling the details of the incident.
“I didn’t have the language to even comfort him in that moment,” she says.
Since coming forward, Payton caught the attention of the NAACP, and the organization demands that the Department of Justice investigate the incident as a federal hate crime. The ringleader has been kicked off the football team, but the NAACP tells NBC News that the player should have been expelled.
