Athletes at another NJ high school use anti-black slur

LINDWOOD —For the second time in a week, school athletes in South Jersey are in trouble for directing a racial slur at an opposing player.

Two Mainland Regional School students were disciplined for directing an offensive term at a member of the Absegami High School crew team during a tournament on Sunday.

Mainland schools Superintendent Mark Marrone apologized for the "unacceptable comments."

"When information about the incident was brought to our attention, it was immediately investigated and the student athletes involved were disciplined. The comments made by these two students are not reflective of the policies and practices of the Mainland Regional High School community," Marrone said in a written statement.

Marrone did not disclose the identities of the students or how they were disciplined.

The Press of Atlantic City reported that the incident took place Sunday at the Atlantic County High School Rowing Championships at Lake Lenape in Mays Landing. Absegami's girls rowing coach Brad Young identified the student at Myasia Joga.

The junior, the only black member of the Absegami team,  told NBC Philadelphia that she was sitting on her team's bus when two members of the Mainland squad sat down next to her and called her "Rosa Parks" and the N-word.

"We're disappointed when any young adult uses such language directed at anybody and we're very thankful that Mainland Regional High School and their administration acted quickly, swiftly, did a through investigation and took appropriate action,"
Greater Egg Harbor Regional Schools Chief School Administrator John Keenan told New Jersey 101.5.

"We all have a zero tolerance in terms of that, not just in athletics but in all our schools," Keenan said.

The remaining two games of the season plus playoffs were cancelled for Haddonfield High School's boys lacrosse team after a white team member used a racial slur against a black female athlete from another school.

Complaints about the incident have been filed with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and the civil rights division of the state Attorney General's Office. The NJSIAA does not oversee high school rowing.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ