Aysha Qamar at Daily Kos:
An entire girls basketball team decided to kneel during the national anthem of the Oklahoma 6A state basketball tournament Thursday night. Playing against Midwest City High School, every member of the Norman High School girls team knelt but instead of being applauded for their stance against racism and police brutality, announcers on the National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) Network's official live stream attempted to degrade the players by using disgusting racial slurs.
Clearly forgetting to turn off their mic during the anthem, the game announcers were heard making racist and derogatory comments toward the players. “They're kneeling? I hope Norman gets their ass kicked," one announcer could be heard saying. Another said, "F**k Norman. I hope they lose. C’mon, Midwest City. They're gonna kneel like that? Hell no." Later in the clip, an announcer could be heard muttering, “F*cking [N-words].”
Video clips of the incident posted by the program's junior varsity coach Frankie Parks have since gone viral. Alongside sharing the clip, social media users noted that racism like this is the reason why people kneel for the anthem. “See why we do it!?! They still think it’s about the flag,” NFL player Gerland McCoy, who also kneels for the anthem, said on Twitter.
[...]
In a statement released Friday, announcer Matt Rowan admitted it was his voice using hate speech to describe children. He then blamed his racist ramblings on his blood sugar.
t was not until a subsequent interview with TMZ Sports that Rowan bothered to apologize to the student athletes whom he’d insulted. He also claimed he wasn’t trying to hide behind his diabetes.
The network issued a statement Friday noting that it is “aggressively investigating” the incident and “condemns racism, hate, and discrimination.” The NFHS streams high school games not only in Oklahoma but around the country, so such behavior is unacceptable and a statement issuing an apology is not enough.
After issuing a statement Friday in support of its students and their resilience, Norman Public Schools superintendent Nick Migliorino confirmed that Norman Public Schools would no longer allow NFHS to broadcast its games.
Dear Matt Rowan, blaming your racist outburst about Norman High School basketball players kneeling during the national anthem Thursday night on diabetes is cowardice.
