Clatskanie High School girls basketball players in northwest Oregon “more likely than not” used racist language against members of the De La Salle team during a game in Clatskanie in December 2021. An investigator has determined this after the probe. The team has been placed on probation by the Oregon School Activities Association until mid-February 2023.
The investigation found that Clatskanie school staff and referees assigned by the Lower Columbia Officials Association failed to address the concerns regarding racially charged language after they were brought up during the game.
The association said the high school team’s players and coaches must engage with a guest speaker about equity and inclusion before next season, among other measures, and all Clatskanie student athletes and coaches must complete racial equity training and implicit bias training.
Officials who worked the game were also punished. The Lower Columbia officials who worked the December game were prohibited from working any 2022 OSAA Basketball State Championship playoff games.
This was about an investigation into a girls basketball game between the Tigers and De La Salle North Catholic in which it was alleged that players from Clatskanie used racist slurs directed at the visiting players. The game took place on Dec. 14 in 2021. The Knights played in Clatskanie. The game was ended early because De La Salle North Catholic players was becoming increasingly physical with Clatskanie players. Two of the girls were ejected for flagrant fouls. The official result of the game is a 44-36 win for the Tigers.
The investigation was not absolute that the alleged racist language was used, but felt that it was likely to have happened. The school now needs to take certain actions to ensure that an incident like this doesn’t occur in the future. Harsher penalties will be given if there are further violations during the probationary period.
