Students at a Florida high school have used their collective voices to protest the dismissal of two of their school’s baseball coaches, including one who used a racial slur in a private student group text.
While the effort demonstrated a commitment to the coaches, it resulted in a forfeiture of the rest of the team’s season.
Officials canceled the last six games of the year, impacting the team’s already dismal season record.
Robert Butz, the principal at Fort Myers High School, has removed two key members of the school’s coaching staff, head coach Kyle Burchfield and assistant coach Alex Carcioppolo.
Carcioppolo was fired and is under investigation for violating the civil rights of some of his students when he used the N-word in a team group chat. In February, he typed, “Happy Valentine’s Day, N*****.”
According to WINK, the assistant coach was removed from his position within 24 hours of sending the text.
A Title VI probe was then launched by the Lee County School District on March 8 to investigate whether his comments discriminated against any of the students “on the basis of race, color, or national origin,” particularly since the public school and the sports program “receives in Federal funds or other Federal financial assistance” to run, according to FOX 4 Now.
On April 5, almost two months after the Carcioppolo investigation started, Burchfield was removed as head coach. Officials argued he was ousted from the post “because of the integrity of the investigation.”
Burchfield still remains a social studies teacher on campus.
The next day, in protest of this decision by the district, some team members walked out in protest during a game against Estero High School.
Fort Myers athletics director Steve Cato reported the incident to the district, noting that the walkout essentially was related to the investigations and targeted Black students on the team.
“We are still trying to identify all of the players and coaches involved,” Cato wrote to the FHSAA. “We did have 5-6 players who remained on the field and in the dugout to play the game, but without enough to continue we had to forfeit the game.”
One player’s parent, Dee Tucker, told WINK, “Not one Black team member was told about the walkout. So, they weren’t able to participate.”
“It was planned only for two Black kids to be left behind,” Tucker continued. “This is 100 percent premeditated and malicious.”
As a penalty for what was considered unsportsmanlike conduct, the school was fined $500, and the team forfeited the game.
As a result, the school canceled the team’s scheduled practices as it conferred with staff and parents about the ordeal.
The principal was faced with a double dilemma. He had no team and no coaches. He concluded that the season, where the team lost the first seven games, would prematurely end.
Butz emailed players’ parents the unfortunate news, explaining how he and other administrators exhausted all options before arriving at the decision.
“After meeting with every varsity baseball family and evaluating our options for the rest of the season, I must inform you that I have made the decision to cancel the rest of our baseball regular season and district play,” Butz wrote.
“This was not an easy decision to make,” the principal said in the letter, adding, “The current status of our team and coaching staff does not provide a viable path forward for the remainder of the season.”
During the April school board meeting, parents reacted to allegations of racial discrimination, calling it “upsetting.”
Parents were told the principal will now set up individual meetings with families to assess the future of the program and options for their student-athletes.
Butz also said he would provide an update on the status of the investigation in the upcoming week.
If u r black u need to get out of the state of Florida as soon as possible, it’s not looking good for y’all down there…and all the Latinos that vote republican down there u will be the next targets in their make America white again campaign… Make my wordsss…lmao
You damn sure ain’t lying.
So basically the racist little white boys walked out in support of their racist coach. That was mighty white of them.
In some parts of Florida Hispanics outnumber whites by alot so if they all got out of town and left there sure would be a huge migration. Can’t see that happening since people are flocking to Florida not Leaving in masses. That’s because woke iand progressive politics are not welcome thank goodness
This was the absolute correct action this principle took. Our nation needs more and more leaders like him to work towards regaining some of what rights we have lost during the past 7 years. Equality, acceptance and diversity is what our nation needs to regain.
but everyone saying Karen with the intention to be racist and demeaning towards white people!! 100% facts hows that ok? holler at ya boy!!!
Rosalinda, you can’t regain what you never had. There has NEVER been equality or acceptance in this country; not since the “whites” stole it from the Natives. Which, ironically enough, is how the whites managed to steal it from the Natives.
Scott, I need you to gain a better understanding of what “racism” is, and how it differs fundamentally from “prejudice”. Holler at ya girl! Furthermore, it’s not demeaning for me to call an individual an asshat (Karen) if they are, in fact, behaving like an asshat (Karen). Karen is not a blanket term for entire communities.
They had already lost so many games it was no skin off their noses. Cheap shot to blame black people for this. Jesus.
How telling which players walked away in protest in support of their racist coach
Shame !!!! Shame !!!! Shame !!!! Give them a inch They show U a Mile. Been like that all there Life.
Good call to the principal and administrators. We can’t get along so the entire season is gone. The discussion shpuld take place with parents individually. Give the school an idea of why the white kids supported their coach.
Never have I ever heard of walking out in support of someone when they are wrong! Wth? What are these kids being taught?
What do you expect?
You beat it into White peoples heads that they are racist, you beat it into boys heads that they are sexist. You teach kids now for years that if they are White, and especially a White male that is straight, they are to blame for all the world’s problems…
And then you act surprised when they act like this. If someone is going to be called a ” racist oppressor”, then they might as well be racist.
So they fired him as the baseball coach but not as a teacher? That just doesn’t make sense.
This woke world had created division in every facet of America. This President is not providing any unity as promised. Race relations have sunken to the lowest level in years. Reparations is not the answer. Tearing down statues is not the answer. Giving credit to groups who don’t deserve credit is temporary to bankruptcy. America is not the shiny beacon anymore. We cave to all woke communities and forgotten about history of past mistakes and think monies is the salvation. Why are there more minority in prison systems? Why do the inner schools have a failure problems? Most larger cities are Democratic run cities who do nothing for the poor or uneducated just used votes at election time. To make things worse this President is preaching division of racial inequities from hmes to jobs to credit scores. Keep giving ebt and food stamps to single mothers of 9 children with no father figures paying any accountability for their actions. Itself the center of minority issues is no family center or structure. Don’t just blame white people. Chicago is shooting more black on black crime than most other metropolitan size cities. Make crime accountable again and rid the no cash bail. It’s time to make this white washing of America a thing of the past.
Tommie, your post is overflowing with memes, but woefully lacking in verifiable facts.
Tommy, you are rationalizing white racism, a common tactic for those of us who harbor distrust and/or fear others that don’t look or act just like themselves.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA IS NOTHING NEW! HITLER AND NAZI GERMANY SHOWED WHAT WHITE PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF AND THE COLD INSENSITIVE HORRIFC TREATMENT OF ETHNIC MINORITIES. REPUBLICANS, CONSERVATIVES, NEONAZIS, NRA, FOX NEWS ARE THE PRESENT EXAMPLE THE WORLD IS SEEING HERE IN AMERICA. A LACK OF TRUTH AND ACCOUNTABILITY BY WHITE NATIONALIST IS WHAT HAS ALLOWED THIS EVIL TO GROW! WHICH IS BEING DEMONSTRATED HERE ONCE AGAIN. GOD SAVE THIS COUNTRY!