OLD TAPPAN, N.J.—An investigation was launched by high school athletic officials at Northern Valley-Old Tappan amid allegations that NVOT players used racial slurs during a freshman basketball game Feb. 11 against Teaneck, leading the Teaneck coach to remove his players from the court with only minutes remaining in the game.
Media accounts alleged that some players on Teaneck’s freshman basketball team heard NVOT players use the “n-word” as well as referring to the Teaneck players as “bitches.”
Efforts to get details on the investigation and whether the Big North, both schools’ athletic conference, was also looking into allegations of racial slurs, were not returned by press time.
Teaneck’s freshman coach Owen Barnes told his team to leave the court with three minutes remaining, alleging NVOT players were insulting his players and using racist slurs.
Barnes said he only pulled his players off the court because the verbal abuse continued unstopped by referees and opposing coaches, according to one published account.
However, Northern Valley Regional High School District officials said no reports were received from referees, staff, or school officials of inappropriate language being heard or used on the court.
NVOT school board president Joseph Argenziano said a complete investigation would be conducted and hoped a similar investigation would occur in Teaneck if the allegations are proved false.
Teaneck Schools Superintendent Christopher Irving said the alleged verbal abuse was reported during the game but not addressed.
‘A disturbing situation’
“In an effort to deescalate a disturbing situation that was taking place on the basketball court, one that was reported by our freshman head coach during the game but was not sufficiently rectified, our coach made a decision in the best interest of our student athletes to end the game early,” said Irving in a statement.
“We are very proud of how our students handled this issue, and conversations are now taking place between the principals and athletic directors of the two schools,” added Irving.
‘Thorough investigation’
Argenziano vowed that NVOT would conduct a “thorough investigation” of the alleged racist comments, noting “if the allegations are true that would be very serious and grossly unacceptable.”
He said initial reports from on-court officials and nearby spectators did not indicate any awareness of racist terms being used by NVOT players but that the allegations would be investigated.
Efforts to get further details from Argenziano, as well as comment from Teaneck’s athletic director David Murphy, were not returned by press time.
‘Wait for the facts’
Northern Valley District Superintendent James Santana said information would be released once its investigation is concluded.
“In the meantime I would encourage everyone not to rush to judgement. Too quickly our society rushes and people allow their emotions to accelerate judgments of others. Everyone needs to slow down and wait for the facts to be evaluated,” emailed Santana.
Editor’s note: This statement from Santana was received Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:16 p.m. via email, after this story was first published:
Northern Valley is a diverse community that prides itself on fostering in our young men and women the values of respect, tolerance, sportsmanship, empathy, and love. Furthermore, we cherish and celebrate the diversity of our neighboring schools and communities.
Although we are not permitted to discuss specifics related to our investigation into what transpired at Tuesday’s 9th-grade basketball game between Northern Valley Old Tappan and Teaneck, we can inform the public of our position.
To be clear: we take all student misconduct allegations seriously. Our students are fully aware of our expectations and the consequences for not meeting them. That being said, we should all take pause and recognize that we are dealing with adolescents. We encourage everyone to reserve judgment and resist condemning a team or school district for alleged actions of individuals.
As in most cases, there is always more to the story than what is being reported in the news. Our job as educators is to address problems in a fair way and use them as teachable moments.
As it is commonly said, life lessons are sometimes the hardest things to navigate because, most of the time, the test comes before the lesson. To this end, we urge all parties involved and the public to respect our students’ confidentiality and trust that our school administrators and parents will address our students accordingly to support their development.
We have amazing students at Northern Valley and it is a privilege to work with them every day. We will provide future updates as confidentiality and regulations permit.
Sincerely,
James M. Santana
Proud Superintendent of the Northern Valley Regional High School District