LETTER: Behavior at PWHS game was insulting to player, community

To Ozaukee Press:

At the Feb. 13 Port Washington High School varsity basketball game against Nicolet, dozens of Port Washington High School students held a photocopied image of Nicolet standout Jalen Johnson that made it appear he was wearing blackface. I was appalled when I heard about this incident, especially when I found out that a parent was the main instigator. Really??   

A photo of the scene has gone viral on social media, as well as in news media around the country. It sparked outrage among many throughout the Milwaukee-area basketball community for the racist overtones such images represent. Further, blackface has been something of a national discussion point recently in the wake of reporting on a racist photo in Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook.

Port High has been very involved with Character Counts for many years.  The six pillars are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Although each of these pillars is essential to the moral and ethical character of a person, school and community, the main area that was violated on Feb. 13th was respect.

Port Washington High School also has an activity code that includes the following “Sportsmanship Expectations:”
• All students “in-season” should conduct themselves with the ideal that the competitor’s representatives deserve respect and to be treated as equals.
• All spectators represent the school the same as a participant and should behave accordingly.
• Be courteous to the officials, accepting and being respectful of their decisions.
• Consider that the good name of the school is more valuable than any game won by unfair play.
• Advocate that any spectator or participant who continually demonstrates poor sportsmanship be excused from the program or event.  

The students and parent(s) involved violated all five of these standards.

So, as a citizen of Port Washington, as well as having taught in the public schools for 35 years, I truly question Port High’s commitment to ethical behavior, especially as it is described by Character Counts and the activity code. These constitute the ethical and moral standards that must be lived each and every day by all of us. The behavior on Feb. 13 was unethical, immoral and racist.  

Since 2015, the Southern Poverty Law Center began collecting reports of racist incidents. They have identified five actions that should always take place:
• Make yourself aware that racism is real and that it exists.
• Try to understand how other people see things.
• Think ahead.
• Speak up. Silence is support for whatever the act is.
 • Don’t downplay racist incidents.          Again, it appears that none of these occurred before this incident.

My hope is that the punishment for students who participated in the incident aligns with the consequences they created.  Not only is a huge apology owed to Jalen Johnson and his family, Nicolet High School, the WIAA, all the teams Port High plays against, the students not involved in this incident, the staff at Port High and the community, but each of the students and parent(s) involved should be barred from attending athletic events for the remainder of this school year.     

Furthermore, the students involved should be required to attend a class on racism, white privilege and bias.

They have truly let us down. At this point, I am humiliated to say that I live in a city where racism, white privilege, bias and such a lack of respect for others exist.

Patricia Morrissey
Port Washington