Two Views of Harassment at SAMOHI

July 1, 2011 – The alleged racial harassment of an African-American student at Santa Monica High School has touched off a national controversy. In the following email exchange among the parents of the high school's wrestling team members, the incident was interpreted in two very different ways.

Dear Wrestling Families,

We are writing to assure parents and wrestling families that it is safe to trust that your children are not subject to any form of racism while participating in the Santa Monica Wrestling Program. The wrestling community is a very tight knit group and historically we have observed only respect and tolerance for color, creed and religion. The purpose of this communication is to share the findings of our inquiries because the recent events as reported in the paper are not accurate.

The incident started with four boys who were alone in the wrestling room shortly before wrestling class began on May 4th. Present were three varsity captains and a former team member no longer in the class or on the team.

By all accounts, per verbal and written statements taken by the coaching staff and administrators at the school, the wrestlers dressed for practice and were in various stages of warming up and cleaning the mats.

In the wrestling room there are exercise ropes approximately one inch thick and 30 feet long and used for conditioning. Also in the room is an 80 lb. brown leather wrestling dummy used by various members of the team for conditioning and technique development. This is the only free standing dummy in the room.

On occasion the dummy is hung off the chin-up bar in the vertical position by a rope under the arm pits for drilling in the standing position. This is what the former wrestler was attempting to accomplish when he asked one of the current team captains to drag it over and prop it against the wall. That is the entirety of involvement of any of our current team members in this incident, dragging the dummy and propping it against the wall.

The team captain, in his statement to the coaching staff and the two house principals who interviewed him, never touched the rope, and the rope was not tied in a noose when he left the scene. The house principals have stated that this is consistent with all the other student statements that were taken at the time. The two other captains present at the time have stated that no reference to race was made whatsoever during the attempts to hang the dummy. Accordingly the administrators concluded the event was not racially motivated.

The attempt to hang the dummy failed and it was in fact never hung. The he rope was tied in a noose like knot at some point, just as a way to try to set up the dummy for practice. As the rest of the team entered the room the dummy was still propped against the wall, and the rope was hanging over the chin up bar a few feet away. This was an understandably disturbing scene to some students, both black and white, but any noose symbolism was not the stated intent of the actions of their former teammate.

The second, and completely unrelated incident that occurred that same day involved a African American student being locked to a locker through his belt loop from a security chain that hangs off all the lockers as a means to secure the contents in the lockers.

In spite of what has been published in the papers, the student involved has reported to the coaching staff and the administration in four separate statements, that nearly every student on the team, regardless of race, has been the subject of this prank at some point in the season. Furthermore, in his statements he has claimed he never heard any racial comments during or after this incident and did not consider this to be a racially motivated event. Additionally he has stated he never saw the wrestling dummy or noose that day.

On the surface, and as it was reported in the press, these two incidents seem related and can be misconstrued by outsiders as racially motivated. This was not the case and not the impression of the administrators who are the only ones who spoke to all students involved. Accordingly this is presumably why they did not feel it necessary to contact any parents of students related to this incident at that time.

The fact that sensitivities to these events were reported by some team members motivated Coach Black to self initiated certain changes. He immediately moved the lockers into the wrestling room and designated the locker rooms off -limits to all team members. He then arranged a racial sensitivity seminar for the team to appreciate the various points of view that exist among their peers regarding race and racial sensitivities.

Coach Black's wrestling room has always been racially integrated and his teams very close. I have not witnessed any racial discrimination in my 10 years of involvement with the team. These hardworking student athletes sweat together, eat together and even stay together at overnight tournaments regardless of race or religion.

We have witnessed nothing but tolerance and acceptance on the team and would never tolerate anything else and therefore this incident and the way it was reported has been very concerning for all coaches and administrators involved. Our commitment is to continue Coach Black's policy of improving the experience of every athlete who has the fortitude to step on the mat in competition. Wrestling is a worldwide brotherhood and the most racially integrated sport many of us have ever witnessed. We remain focused on making every student feel welcomed and offering every athlete the same opportunity to progress in their chosen sport.

Sincerely,

Robert Forster
Santa Monica Bay Wrestling Club

Dear Mr. Forster:

I find your note confusing and perplexing. Please let us know in what capacity that you are writing to us? My son is a member of the Santa Monica High School Wrestling team, not the Santa Monica Bay Wrestling Club. So, why is the Santa Monica Bay Wrestling Club writing to us? Who is included in the term "we" that begins your letter? Why do you have so much knowledge of events? Were you part investigation team? Why are we receiving this letter from you and not the coach, or the head of the athletic department, or the principal?

In addition to these questions, I have more. I want to make sure that I understandand what you are saying in the letter. As I understand your words, a pattern of hazing and bullying is rampant, but it is not racial, is that what I'm reading? You state, "...a[n] African American student being locked to a locker through his belt loop from a security chain that hangs off all the lockers....In spite of what has been published in the papers, the student involved has reported to the coaching staff and the administration in four separate statements, that nearly every student on the team, regardless of race, has been the subject of this prank at some point in the season."

So this is okay because it is a prank, but not racial? Mr. Forster, this is not a "prank," this is hazing and it is bullying, and for a child it can be terrifying.

As a kid I was held up against a fence against my will. I still remember it. Not cool. Please explain to me how a practice where teammates systematically restrain other team members demonstrates that they are "a very tight knit group," as you have reported in your letter. That would not seem to be in the spirit of team building.

If the intent of your letter to indicate what a tight ship is being run, you have accomplished the opposite.

While I am not in position to discuss the facts of the incident as reported on your letter as I wasn't there, as far as I know you weren't there either, so I do wonder, why, if the incident was not racially motivated, did the coach feel the need to initiate a racial sensitvity seminar?

There is a disconnect here. Why did the school feel the need to put out a letter to the SAMOHI community specifically describing a racial incident and what was being done about it?

Mr. Forster, I am not relieved by your words. I am alarmed.

Neal Payton

"In spite of what has been published in the papers... nearly every student on the team, regardless of race, has been the subject of this prank at some point in the season." Robert Forster

"So this is okay because it is a prank, but not racial? Mr. Forster, this is not a "prank," this is hazing and it is bullying, and for a child it can be terrifying." Neal Payton