Barnes' Bark: Neutral Fields, If Necessary

Ron Bailey, Publisher

[The thoughts presented below are those of Barry Barnes, and don't necessarily reflect those of i95Ballerz.com, its principals or partners].

October 2, 2008 - Sports have, for the most part, been a bridge of reasoning for racism. From Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play for a “professional team”, to major college sport programs accepting black athletes and letting them play a significant role in the 50’s and 60’s, to now, this country has came a long, long way. But if people think we are “there”, think again because this country still has along, long way to go.

It is one thing to experience racism as an adult in today’s world, but it is another thing for our children to experience it on the playing field. Unfortunately, Dunbar’s high school football team, the Crimson Tide, allegedly, experienced racism from the Fort Hill Sentinels on Sept. 19th in Cumberland, MD. The Crimson Tide, were leading the Sentinels, 14-8 with four minutes left in the 3rd quarter before Dunbar’s head coach, Craig Jefferies, led his team off the Greenway Avenue Stadium field to prevent a possible brawl.

“It was kind of a shock to him,” said Richard Hughes II, father of Dunbar defensive end Richard Hughes III. “Just never had anything like that happen before.” Hughes III displayed anger on the sideline and drew a un-sportsmanlike-conduct penalty. Two other un-sportsmanlike-conduct penalties were issued afterwards, which caused coach Jefferies to leave the field with his team.

Four Crimson Tide players stated Sentinel players had said the N-word while passing by, at the line of scrimmage and out of pileups. It was also stated a racially offensive comment came from the Sentinels’ stands.

“It’s something that would follow those kids the rest of their lives, and I had to do what I could to prevent that,” said coach Jefferies.

Last spring, Fort Hill had other racial incidents when the school’s principal banned displays of the confederate flag. A black family, allegedly, also reported they were chased away because of racial intimidation.

According to referee Robert M. Broadwater in a written statement, the officiating crew did not hear such language in the game. Per Broadwater, Jefferies said he had been warned not to go to Cumberland because “you will not get a fairly officiated game. But was “willing to give us a chance.”

These allegations are bad for Fort Hill because it puts them into a negative light. Even if true, not all the Sentinels are racist. With a rural western Maryland school that has over a 1,000 students, including about 60 black students and four blacks starting for the Sentinels, people may think the worse.

It is difficult for officials to hear everything said on the field, but players are asked to communicate to officials unfair play. A good, competitive team like Dunbar would not get extremely angry after leading against another powerhouse school, such as Fort Hill.

McKinley Tech, another D.C. public school, is scheduled to play at Fort Hill, Friday. If McKinley Tech feels uncomfortable playing at Fort Hill because of the allegations, they should play at a neutral site. If we can’t protect our local teams, and our children, from racism on the road, and in life, the children may not participate. Then, all the sacrifices that both black and white people gave, will be for nothing. Especially on the field of life and competitive play.

Editors Note: Subsequent to this submission, McKinley Tech has declined to play Fort Hill.