The basketball game between Flower Mound High School and Plano East had all the students talking on social media, and not because it went into triple overtime.
A picture emerged on Twitter showing kids in the Flower Mound student section holding signs that said “white power.” Witnesses who were present said the incident happened late in the game when the crowd was growing more and more intense as each team kept pulling slightly ahead and the scoring lead switched several times.
“Our student section started pointing at the sign. That’s when it clicked into everyone’s mind… ‘Whoa… what are these guys doing?’ And the teachers came and took the signs down,” a Plano East athlete said.
Watch the students allegedly flash a ‘white power’ sign below:
Witnesses also said that racial slurs were hurled at the Plano East athletes and that Flower Mound students defecated and urinated in the Plano East bus, though neither district could confirm the bus story.
Flower Mound’s coach, Eric Littleton, responded on Twitter: “Unacceptable. As head coach at FMHS I offer our full voice apology. I will pursue this fully. No place for this.”
Lewisville School District’s Interim Superintendent Dr. Kevin Rogers also responded with a statement on Tuesday:
As Interim Superintendent of a very diverse school district and community, I have been involved with our internal investigation regarding the unfortunate occurrence at Friday night’s Flower Mound High School vs. Plano East varsity boys’ basketball game. I want to be clear that this type of incident – however it has been perceived – has not and will not be tolerated in LISD. We have always had high expectations for our more than 53,000 students and hold them to those standards both in and outside of the classroom.
As we stated yesterday, the investigation of this occurrence is still underway, and we fully intend to act on our findings. We regret that this unfortunate event has been elevated to this level on so many social media circles.
I am disheartened that the perceived actions of a few may reflect poorly on two great schools – Flower Mound and Plano East High Schools – school districts and communities. Ultimately, please know we have the highest respect for the students, staff and community of Plano East High School.