A school district in Florida’s panhandle is denouncing messages involving racist language sent between members of a high school baseball team.
NBC affiliate WPMI-TV reported the messages sent to their sister station from a parent at Escambia High School, who sent them to the Escambia County School District.
Separate screenshots from a group chat title “EHS JV baseball” show several slurs, including use of the n-word and at least one person being called a “slave.”
"I was very concerned," Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Smith told the stations on Thursday. "They’re just not appropriate. They’re hurtful messages, and those messages are incredibly inappropriate for our schools.”
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Smith confirmed the messages were sent by players at the school and added the school had already closed its investigation into the matter, adding the incident took place in March.
The district reportedly has disciplined the students, but Smith would not publicly announce the punishments due to student privacy laws.
“We have to draw a line to clearly establish that this type of conduct is not going to be tolerated, it’s not acceptable," Smith said.
