Anthony Wayne Local Schools officials on Friday said they are investigating a racial slur made by one of their players to a Perrysburg player at a boys lacrosse game.
Because of the incident, the game was abandoned at halftime on Thursday night with the teams tied at 5.
A statement issued by Anthony Wayne reads the incident is under investigation by the district after it was made aware of allegations “of an inappropriate, racially derogatory comment made by an Anthony Wayne athlete toward a Perrysburg athlete” and that the report is “being taken very seriously and will be investigated thoroughly.”
“Our school officials are working with Perrysburg school administrators and ask that our community allow time for additional conversations and information gathering to take place. Anthony Wayne Local Schools does not condone this type of behavior,” Kevin Pfefferle, principal at Anthony Wayne High School, wrote in the statement. “We will continue the investigation and pursue the appropriate due process.”
Anthony Wayne Local Schools Superintendent Jim Fritz issued a statement late Friday expanding on the investigation.
“Anthony Wayne Local Schools (AWLS) administrators were notified of an inappropriate, racially derogatory comment allegedly made by one of our varsity athletes toward a Perrysburg athlete during Thursday night’s boys lacrosse game,” Fritz wrote. “I want you to know we are taking this situation very seriously and are currently conducting an investigation in partnership with Perrysburg Schools.
“Behavior of this nature does not represent the culture, attitudes, or feelings that AWLS expects of its students, staff, parents, and community.
“The district is committed to providing a safe, empathetic and respectful environment for all. As such, we do not condone or tolerate racist and/or derogatory comments or actions. This type of behavior goes against our codes of conduct, are not reflective of the core values we strive to instill in our school community, and are not acceptable nor tolerated.”
Friday afternoon, Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Tom Hosler sent a letter to parents in the Perrysburg district addressing not only the situation from Thursday, but also an earlier incident involving its lacrosse team and an unspecified private school.
“In the last three weeks, there have been two incidents involving alleged comments made during athletic events that were regarded as racially charged,” Hosler wrote. “In each case, these alleged words were heard by the teammates of the Perrysburg student athletes to whom the comments were directed. In these alleged cases, one occurred with a private school and the other a public school. The other schools reacted quickly and thoroughly to the situations, including one of the schools issuing a public statement.
“In both cases, we are proud of the way our coaches and athletes responded to each situation. We respect the courage it takes for individuals who may be the target of hurtful statements and their teammates to come forward and say something about what they heard.”
Game official Dan Steingraber, Sr., declined to comment on what took place, other than to acknowledge that neither he, nor the other officials (Dan Steingraber, Jr., and Dean Grzegorczyk) heard any of the comments in question, which were allegedly made while the teams were exiting the field at halftime.
Steingraber, Sr., said if officials do hear racially derogatory comments made by a player, the rules call for the player to be ejected from the contest and a follow-up report be made by an official from the crew stating the reason for the ejection. No ejection was made in Thursday’s contest.
Steve Rodzos, father of Perrysburg lacrosse player Xavier Rodzos, said there was some confusion at the end of halftime after what was a very competitive first half.
“All the sudden, I looked over and I see my son and his teammates packing up and taking their shoulder pads off,” Steve Rodzos said. “I was confused and really had no idea what was going on, but come to find out, one of the Anthony Wayne kids allegedly used a racial slur toward a Perrysburg player. This had allegedly happened [in an earlier game] and we found out afterward that the [Perrysburg] players had made a pact to walk off the field in solidarity and not play the rest of the game if it happened again.”
Northern Lakes League commissioner Richard Browne said no decision has been made on whether the game will be resumed, or how it will be counted in the standings (a tie, a loss for Perrysburg, or a no contest) if not resumed.
Perrysburg entered the game with an overall record of 9-3, including 7-0 in NLL play, and the Generals came in 8-3, 5-1. A Perrysburg win would have clinched an outright league title for the Yellow Jackets, who had defeated AW 5-3 in their first league meeting on April 7.
The Generals needed to beat Perrysburg and win their remaining NLL game against Bowling Green to secure a share of the league crown in the NLL’s eight-game league schedule.
For now, Hosler wrote Perrysburg Schools is taking steps to address how to keep these types of incidents from taking place in the future.
“No school is immune from these events,” Hosler wrote. “In Perrysburg, we communicate with our families when we discover or encounter hate speech, as we reported recently when graffiti was discovered in a bathroom stall. Remaining silent has not been the path we have chosen in addressing these situations. We feel it is only when we identify, call attention to, and commit to addressing this that awareness and change come. Equally important is our families need to see how we respond when these instances occur.
“With the recent events still fresh in our minds, we have begun a dialogue with school leaders across northwest Ohio in our athletic community. This important dialogue will focus on how we can work together to foster a better culture of high expectations, increased communications and, when such incidents occur, we want to speak as one community, with one voice against hate speech.”
First Published April 29, 2022, 4:38 p.m.
