On Jan. 12, the Middlebury Union High School girls' basketball team was scheduled to play Enosburg Fall High School. But the game never happened. The MUHS girls' basketball team decided not to play, citing in an Instagram post what they described as three separate incidents where their athletes "experienced racist attacks from Enosburg spectators."
That same week, other girls' basketball teams — Burlington High School and Rice Memorial High School — postponed their games against Champlain Valley Union High School after a racially charged TikTok.
Host Connor Cyrus speak with three of the student-athletes from the Middlebury Union High School girls' basketball team about their decision. Our guests are:
- Cady Pitner, Grade 12, Guard
- Ele Sellers, Grade 12, Forward
- Jazmyn Hurley, Grade 10, Guard
We'll also speak with MUHS girls' basketball coach Chris Atlemose to get his reaction to how the girls are feeling and the conversations that led up to the big decision of officially canceling the game.
Representatives from Enosburg Falls High School declined to join the show, but Lynn Cota —superintendent of the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union, of which Enosburg Falls High School is a part — shared a written message with Vermont Edition and the FNESU learning community.
Cota writes: "The news headlines are not the image of our students, schools, and community that we would want to have portrayed. Unfortunately, those incidents did take place ... While we have disciplined students for racist comments, we have invested, and will continue to do so, in learning and changing behaviors related to equity, justice and inclusion."
Broadcast live on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, at noon.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or tweet us @vermontedition.
