The Nebraska state high school soccer championship between Lincoln East and Omaha South was mired in a bit of political controversy this week, leading to the suspension of students from Lincoln East. As fans of East celebrated the state title over South, dozens of green paper rectangles were thrown into the air as part of the celebration.Confetti? No. The pieces of paper were made by East students to mimic “green cards” as the Omaha South team is made up of primarily Latino players.
Nebraska State HS Soccer Championship Marred By Racist “Green Card” Stunt
There are two ways a post like this could go: the first is to climb up on the biggest political soapbox one can find, while the second is to pass it off as “kids will be kids.”
Is there an Option Three? Let’s try to just lay out the facts. From the Omaha World-Herald:
⇥The incident turned what should have been a joyful Wednesday at East into “a day of mourning,” [Lincoln East associate principal Dennis] Mann said.⇥⇥“The day after you win a state championship, there should be celebrations,” he said. “That’s not what’s happening. . . . It doesn’t feel right to celebrate.”⇥
⇥⇥Mann said that only one person, whom he would identify only as a “Lincoln East fan,” actually threw cards on the field.⇥
Per the report, students from Lincoln East made the cards and planned to hold them up during the game, like a referee would hold up a yellow or red card. Other students found out about the stunt and alerted school administrators who “put the kibosh on that” before the game. What none of those students knew, however, was that someone being tabbed as a Lincoln East fan – the school is not divulging if it is a current or former student – brought the cards onto the field and threw them in the air. The green cards laid on the ground as the team received their trophies before being hurriedly collected after the ceremony.
There is a lot of hand-wringing going on following the incident and the administrators from East seem more upset than those at South. Obviously, tensions are heightened in a situation that involves race and tolerance, and clearly those in charge at East, including principal Susan Cassata, do not want this incident to be a mark on their entire school:
⇥“It’s probably the most heart-wrenching, disappointing event that I’ve ever been around with students and their behavior that tarnished an event that was otherwise spectacular on both sides,” Cassata said.
Those involved, and others in attendance, are writing letters of apology to the South contingent. Is it too little too late? Is it an over-reaction to a handful of fans acting irresponsibly? Maybe it’s a little of both, but the situation seems to have been handled swiftly. The match, which took place after South’s graduation, was said to have the largest high school soccer crowd in the history of Nebraska. Imagine what the crowd will be for a rematch next season.
Note: Photo above not from this game. (H/T: Mac G’s World)↵
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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