Vermont High Schools Address Racial, Transphobic Slurs at Volleyball Game

A Vermont high school volleyball game was suspended by referees last week after racial and transphobic slurs were hurled towards players from Burlington High School.

According to a report from the Burlington Free Press, once the game official was alerted to the incident stopped the game to talk with coaches and players from Burlington and South Burlington. It was determined that “significant harm” was done and the game was stopped, according to the Free Press.

The athletic directors of both schools, Michael Jabour of South Burlington and Quaron Pinckney of Burlington, have been working together on an internal investigation about the incident.

“Discrimination in any form can no longer be allowed to happen and these incidents must not be swept under the rug,” Jabour and Pinckney said in a joint statement. “We condemn all acts of discrimination which are painful not only to the targeted student(s) but those who must experience second-hand victimization as they are forced to witness and left to digest these painful incidents.”

Shortly after the incident, in the following match, Burlington volleyball’s JV and varsity captains — Isara Masi and Saraswoti Chhetri — shared prepared statements to the crowd and local media, the Free Press reported.

“As we stand together as a program, the team is hurt and frustrated by the events that happened at South Burlington the other night. The most tiring part is the fact that these instances continue to happen not only in Vermont sports but in society as a whole,” Masi said. “Everyone needs to be better, and everyone needs to treat each other with kindness and compassion.”

Chhetri followed and said:

“Racism and discrimination of any form are not tolerated, and we will continue to stand up and fight against injustices that occur. At this time, we will not comment on any questions, but the team is looking forward to sharing our story with the BHS Register, our school’s newspaper, in the coming days,” the JV captain said. “We will now shift our focus to tonight’s game and being on the volleyball court moving forward. We thank you all for coming tonight, and appreciate your respect for our privacy at this time.”

To read the full story from The Burlington Free Press, click here.