Basketball coach calls black player 'Buckwheat,' says he was unaware of 'racial context'

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A Texas high school has placed one of its basketball coaches on administrative leave while it investigates accusations the coach called a female player “Buckwheat.”

The player, Chidi Ogbuta, said she no longer wants to play basketball because of the insult. She says her junior varsity basketball coach Clay Jackson called her the name “several times” during a recent game.

Ogbuta, who is black, told her parents several other players laughed at the remark. “Buckwheat” refers to Billie Thomas’ character on the Little Rascals series of the 1930s.

Eddie Murphy famously portrayed a Buckwheat character on Saturday Night Live in the early 80s.

Jackson has since apologized to Ogbuta and her parents, saying he “wasn’t aware of the racial context,” according to WFAA-TV.