We’re getting new reaction to reports of racism at a high school basketball game in Kenosha County.
The Beloit Memorial girls team says it was targeted by taunts earlier this week at Westosha Central.
LaFonda Richardson was watching the live-stream of her daughter's Beloit basketball game on Tuesday when she says things started going wrong.
“I could just see the tensions in the video rising with the officiating individuals and it looked like it was toward everything with our girls program,” said Richardson.
That's when she got a FaceTime from a parent at the game saying their team was no longer playing after the referee was allegedly being disrespectful to the coaches and players.
In addition to this, Richardson claims the fans were also being unruly.
“I'm hearing the chaos in the gym,” she recalled. “[The Beloit girls team] walked right through the gym and they experienced the racial slurs, they experienced the taunting.”
Beloit coaches posted on social media alleging those taunts consisted of monkey sounds and gestures at the predominantly Black athletes.
The live-stream of Tuesday's game has since been taken down.
“We're not even a full year, a full calendar year away from, the same event that happened with our boys athletic program.”
The incident with the boys’ team took place in March at another school in the Southern Lakes Conference which was investigated and prompted school policy changes.
She says as a mother she’s concerned Beloit players will experience this again as one of the most diverse programs in the conference, so she wants changes.
“There has to be consequences when actions like this are exhibited,”said Richardson.
Superintendents from both Beloit and Westosha school districts tell TMJ4 they're working to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile the WIAA tells us they're investigating the Tuesday game.
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