Monkey taunts at a high school volleyball game. Why is racism still tolerated in sports? | Opinion

I received a phone call Saturday afternoon that took me by surprise, but what I heard wasn’t shocking. A friend and fellow volleyball mom told me about racial taunts – monkey gestures ­– allegedly directed at the Pike (Indiana) High School volleyball players from the opposing team, New Palestine (Indiana) High School, during a game.

My friend was upset and justifiably so. She wanted to know who is going to protect Black children, particularly Black girls, from such abuse, especially since valuing the mental health of players has been prioritized recently.

However, when it comes protecting the mental health of Black athletes, or Black children, there’s often silence, and when Black athletes do speak out about racism they’ve experienced, they’re gaslit and told it wasn’t racism – it was just a misunderstanding, a youthful indiscretion or a juvenile joke gone wrong.

The experiences of these athletes aren’t validated so they’re left feeling unseen and unheard. They learn to doubt themselves. They are afraid to defend themselves for fear of being labeled angry and aggressive, and afraid of jeopardizing scholarship opportunities.

I know this because I witnessed the stress of playing while Black from watching my daughter and her friends.

I know this because it happens quite regularly.

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There will be people reading this who will give the offending student a pass because she’s young. There are people reading this who will deny everything I’ve written and try to poke holes in it or say it’s all made up. Where’s the proof, they’ll say – otherwise it’s a lie – as if any amount of proof will change their minds.

Rachel Richardson, the Duke University volleyball player who said she was called the n-word during a match against Brigham Young University knows a thing or two about being called a liar. Forget that it’s plausible because BYU conducted a study where Black students said racism on campus made them feel "isolated and unsafe.” And more recently, Black soccer players said they were called the n-word during a game at BYU. Closer to home, a Center Grove (Indiana) High School player was accused of wearing blackface to mock a Black player on an opposing team in 2021. These things happen – and they shouldn’t.

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And let me just say how unoriginal monkey taunts are at this point. Racists were using that against Patrick Ewing back in 1983. People who do this think it's funny. It's not. It's cliché.

There are people who are offended at my words. They will say I’m playing the race card. There’s no race card to play when you live with race every day. I don’t have to make up what I know from experience. Black people didn’t invent racism in this country, and somehow calling it out is more offensive than actually being racist. How do you fix something if you don’t identify the problem? Racism is the only problem we’re told to pretend doesn’t exist, ignore it and it will go away. When has that ever worked? See how long you can ignore the gas tank on E before you can’t go anywhere. See how long you can ignore cancer before it spreads. Ignoring racism doesn’t make it disappear. It festers and spreads just like cancer.

Black athletes have to think about these issues on a regular basis in addition to working to be an elite athlete and excellent student. It’s a heavy burden to carry – especially for children, teens and young adults. Not having to think about this stuff is one of the privileges of being white. Another is having the benefit of the doubt and placing the blame squarely at the feet of Black people. Yet another is not walking on eggshells while watching out for potential racial landmines. It’s also doubting other people’s experience because it’s not yours or denying racism exists at all.

Black athletes are taught to accept that racism comes with territory. Learn to tune it out or use it for fuel to make you play better, they're told. That’s absurd. Again, why is the burden on Black athletes? Why is racism tolerated? Taunting the opposing team is expected but there’s a line, and racism should definitely cross it. People who spew racist remarks know what they’re doing, and they know they can get away with it.

Allowing this behavior to continue is allowing racism to exist as it doesn’t remain in gyms and sports facilities. You don't magically grow out of it when you turn 18. It’s carried around in every facet of life. These are the teachers, social workers, servers, police officers, judges and neighbors we encounter every day. Incidents such as the ones listed above are proof we haven't done enough to eradicate racism.

Last school year when anti-critical race theory (CRT) and library book bans swept suburban school districts, protecting children was the reason. Anti-CRT legislation was crafted under the guise of making sure some children didn’t feel bad. Well, the Pike girls felt bad on Saturday. We have children feeling bad every day. What are we going to do?

I hope not more of the same or I’ll be writing about another incident in 2023. That will be a shame.

Follow IndyStar Public Engagement Editor Oseye Boyd on Twitter @oseyetboyd.