Cheerleaders in Riverside County, California, say they heard racist taunts and were told they were on the "wrong side of town" during a Friday night football game. Valley View High School Eagles cheerleading coach Kenya Williams tells NBC that the visiting cheerleaders were targeted during halftime of the game against Temecula Valley High School, when they visited the snack bar on the home side of the stadium. "My girls, as they went through the stands, they heard from the crowd, making monkey noises," Williams says.
Williams says seven members of the 18-member squad are Black. She tells the Press Enterprise that Temecula Valley High students made racially charged remarks and pushed the girls as they stood in line at the snack bar. One cheerleader had her hair grabbed. "Then they heard comments saying they were ‘on the wrong side,’ that they’re ‘not supposed to be here,'" the coach says. “That was the last straw that they felt unsafe and had to leave." Witnesses say some of them were in tears.
According to state data, Temucula Valley High School is 49% white and less than 3% Black. Valley View's student body is is more than 13% Black and 9.5% white. A Temecula Valley Unified School District spokeswoman says the district is looking into the allegations and anybody found to have used "hateful language" will be held accountable. Around 50 Temecula Valley High School students held a rally outside the school Monday in support of the Valley View cheerleaders, Valley News reports. (More California stories.)
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