Five Akron students believed to be responsible for leaving a racially charged message on a locker room door at Ellet High School will face disciplinary action by the schools and misdemeanor charges by the police, authorities said Thursday.
Akron Public Schools spokesman Mark Williamson said video surveillance helped officials identify the suspects whose names have not been released. The suspects will face criminal mischief and ethnic intimidation charges, police officials said, adding that the incident is not considered a hate crime under the law.
The racially charged message and swastika — made out of tape and placed on the door to the locker room — was discovered between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Wednesday as Ellet’s boys basketball team prepared for a Division I district semifinal game. The team lost 67-57 in Alliance Wednesday night to Warren Harding in the Orangemen’s season-ending game.
Assistant boys basketball coach Monta Smith, who was told about the message by his son, senior Marquis Smith, 18, who plays on the racially diverse team, posted the incident on social media.
Marquis Smith called his father to tell him about it and sent him a picture. Other players and students had seen it as well.
“I was taken aback,” the elder Smith said Thursday. “We’re in 2017 and we’re still dealing with this madness? He was hurt. He was upset, and he was confused. He said, ‘Dad, I don’t understand. Why are we still dealing with this? How do I handle the situation?’
“They’re preparing for a Division 1 playoff game and their mind is not on the basketball game anymore. … Now it’s bigger than basketball. In this situation, it’s not important anymore. These are your classmates, these are guys you’ve been around the last four years, and you’re just looking [at each other] like, well, who is it and why?” Smith said.
The incident created unnecessary tension and hostility at Ellet, Smith said.
Before the suspects were identified, Smith said the act created “an unhealthy environment at school,” with students wondering who among their classmates left the message.
He said he thought the message, which has been removed from the door, had an effect on how the team played in Alliance.
“A few players did play out of character,” he said. “I don’t like to make excuses, but dealing with a situation that serious, it was in the back of their minds and they were uncharacteristically making mistakes that they wouldn’t normally make.”
“They all get along great, they all love each other,” Smith said. “The biggest thing I wanted my team to understand is they didn’t attack just the black kids. They attacked us as a team.”
Smith said he wrestled with posting about the incident on social media, but in the end decided he should.
“I knew that this would create a firestorm … it just has to be put out there,” he said. “This is just the underbelly of what’s really going on in society.”
The school district began an investigation as soon as it was made aware of the incident, Williamson said.
“Clearly, this is reprehensible and unacceptable behavior. Akron Public Schools is investigating it and will discipline those responsible,” Williamson said before the accused message writers were found.
Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan called the incident “disturbing, offensive, and unacceptable,” in a Twitter post and a prepared statement.
“There is no room in our city for intimidation, hatred, or bigotry of any kind,” Horrigan said.
Smith said the incident made him angry. “I try to put on a strong face for my boys, but deep down it hurts, that my son and my team had to see that, because, what do I tell them when they say, ‘Coach, how do we end racism? What can we do about it?’ ” he said. “I don’t have the answer. The only thing I can tell them is we have to bigger than this, we have to be strong.”
When asked what he would say to the person or people who left the message, Smith said, “You’re the very reason we can’t get over racism.”
Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.