MEQUON — The Homestead High School student at the center of a video mocking the death of George Floyd, apologized Friday.
This comes after other students petitioned for him to be expelled, and for the Mequon-Thiensville School District to do a better job with social justice and racism education.
“I’m recording and sharing this video to openly apologize for my actions in the recent video I was in,” said Cole Elsbree. “What I did was disgusting, and wrong, and terrible. And no one is more disappointed than I am in myself.”
Cole Elsbree, a junior at Homestead High School, is publicly apologizing for a video posted on Snapchat. In the video, Elsbree gives two thumbs up to the camera while kneeling on another student’s neck. That student is laughing as he says “I can’t breathe.”
The young man on the ground, and the person recording the video, also attend schools in the Mequon-Thiensville District.
Superintendent Matthew Joynt called it “reprehensible” and said the district is investigating.
“I’ve heard how angry people are through the messages I’ve been receiving, and I’ve been listening,” Elsbree says in his video apology. “I hear you and I’m sorry.”
Elsbree’s mom told us Thursday she was consulting with a lawyer. Friday, she emailed her son’s video apology.
“I know that racism is a real issue that affects real people in this country every single day,” Elsbree said in his video apology. “The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Artery, Breonna Taylor, are tragedies that can’t go unnoticed. I fully stand with and support the Black Lives Matter movement, and believe this will be an important turning point in our country’s history.”
He goes on to say, “I’ve decided to use this mistake to learn from it and educate myself about the issues in this country. My goal moving forward is to never let this happen again, but also work very hard to become a better person.”
“To allow him to continue here doesn't really teach him a lesson at all,” said Morgan Limbach, a Homestead High School senior. “I think it proves he can get away with the behavior and there won't be any dire consequences to truly stop this behavior. We need to show we don't stand for this.”
Limbach created an online petition demanding Elsbree be expelled from Homestead. It now has nearly 2,000 signatures.
Reem Salah, who graduated last year from Homestead High School, created a separate petition calling on the Mequon-Thiensville School District to make curriculum changes to help rid the school of racism, and better promote social justice.
“It's something as students of color in a predominantly white institution, we constantly face all the time,” Salah said.
We again asked Elsbree’s mom Friday if we could ask her or her son questions. The only response we received Friday was the recorded statement.
