WATERFORD, Wis. — After news spread of racism toward a visiting high school track team competing at Waterford Union High School, the incident is top of mind for many in the area, with some calling for consequences.
“It upset me very much,” Katie Tiderman said. “They need to find out who's responsible for it, and it needs to be addressed."
Tiderman’s son currently attends WUHS, and she told TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin that she believed there should be zero tolerance for racist behavior.
According to reports, athletes and supporters from Rufus King High School in Milwaukee were met with racist taunts and harassment from WUHS students and parents at Wednesday’s track meet.
As a result of the incident, the Rufus King team chose to leave the competition early, with parents sharing concerns over student safety.
“Any student or parent that participated in this kind of conduct needs to be banned from sports, bottom line,” Tiderman said.
The Waterford mom is pushing for accountability, but also wants people to know there’s more to the high school, noting the positive experiences her special needs child has had there.
"I know that does not correlate to what people may experience with racism, but there are some common threads," she said. "You worry about your child being included. You worry about your child being bullied."
She also said the racist remarks are not indicative of the Village’s culture, but others in the community, like Waterford resident Megan Durfee think otherwise.
“People are saying that their kids are scared to go to school because of this happening right now,” Durfee shared. “There’s kids that have been victims at this school.”
“Very disgusted with the behavior,” she said of Wednesday's incident, “and felt sorry for the kids that had to deal with that.”
Durfee, who identifies as biracial, said she and her family have experienced racism firsthand in the community, including things like "dirty looks" and being "talked down on."
"One of the ladies made it known they were racist because they literally told me, 'I'm racist,'" Durfee recounted.
WATCH: Waterford residents call for consequences following racism shown at track meet
She said those experiences made her reluctant to speak out, fearing she would be the target of harassment.
Still, Durfee said she decided to put aside those concerns to stand up for others in her community.
“Waterford, we can do better. We can really do better,” she urged. "Racism shouldn’t be happening in 2025. We bleed the same color.”
Tiderman shares this hope for the future. She’s asking fellow parents to consider the culture they’re creating at home and calling on supporters to speak directly to the WUHS administration and take control of their school’s culture.
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“I believe the staff there take great pride in that school, and because of that I would hope that they be compelled to really investigate,” she added, “not only this incident but if there’s a culture out there, an underlying culture of racism that keeps occurring, it needs to be addressed.”
In a statement, the Waterford superintendent said behavior that targets others based on race has no place in the school. The WIAA said it is working towards a resolution.
“We are aware of the complaint. Member schools involved will review the incident, share findings, and work together toward a resolution,” a WIAA spokesperson said. "The WIAA is available if the schools need assistance. Please know we take allegations of this nature seriously as do our member schools.”
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