Five Lincoln-Way East students were removed from a varsity football game Friday night for allegedly conducting “racist harassment” and displaying “offensive” behavior toward Homewood-Flossmoor fans in the student bleachers, the south suburban high schools said in statements released Saturday.
The five student fans “made a very bad choice to engage in disrespectful and racist harassment towards HF students seated in the bleachers,” H-F District 233 Superintendent Jennifer Norrell and school principal Clinton Alexander said in a joint statement posted on the school’s website. “We want to commend our staff who acted swiftly and safely removed those individuals from our property and helped our students remain in the bleachers and safe.”
The statement said that the district was working with Lincoln-Way East leadership and local authorities as it considers “all options to protect against this in the future, including legal options.”
A statement posted on Lincoln-Way East’s website said that the district was taking the matter “seriously.”
“We are aware that a group of five Lincoln-Way East students displayed inappropriate and offensive behavior at the football game against Homewood-Flossmoor on Friday night. The students involved are not members of the football team,” the statement said. “We would like to sincerely apologize to the HF community for the behavior displayed by these students. This behavior does not reflect the expectations and standards we have for Lincoln-Way students.”
More Top Picks Socket Set
The statement said that the students involved have been identified and that discipline policies and procedures will be followed.