The incident of a racist nature at Coronado High School in San Diego reminds us that tortilla tossing is not new to Southern California schools
Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images
Tuesday, November 5
Basketball coach who led to tortillas being thrown at Latino high school players in San Diego fired
The coach of high school basketball coach that prompted a rampage during which members of his team threw them tortillas to rivals from a predominantly Latino school in San Diego has been fired.
With a 5-0 vote, the Colorado Unified School Committee decided Tuesday the fate of JD Laaperi, coach of the Coronado High School team , a predominantly white school, for its actions that were condemned as racist against the students of Orange Glen High School.
The newspaper San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the school board voted behind closed doors on Tuesday and that disci plinaries against students from both teams, but no decision has been made on this. Coronado Police Authorities are also investigating the case .
Coronado High men’s team earned the 4-A regional division championship by beating on Saturday to Orange Glen High, which is located in Escondido and whose students are mostly Latino.
Although an attempt was made to deny that the tortillas were thrown by members of Coronado’s team, the video images show otherwise.
A video of the aftermath of the Coronado Orange Glen championship game clearly shows that players were among the folks who threw tortillas at the Orange Glen players and staff. I’m beyond disappointed.
pic.twitter.com/RCIIfEgv4r
– Full-Time Hoops (@ FullTimeHoops1) June 20, 2021
Coach Laaperi allegedly insulted his Orange Glen colleague at the end of the game by saying: “ That’s why you don’t speak (vulgar word). Grab your boys and go to the (vulgar word) ”, according to the Union-Tribune. And it was then that the spirits heated up more and the tortillas were launched, as can be seen in videos that circulate on social networks.
TO ALL ESCONDIDO / SAN DIEGO FELLAS‼ ️‼ ️
It hurt me personally seeing young athletes get treated like this… specifically The Orange Glen Boys Varsity Basketball Team! Coronado High School is DISGUSTING for throwing TORTILLAS at the Orange Glen Players! 😐 KEEP READING 👇 pic.twitter.com/RSJrZNE5q3– denice 🌿 (@sanchezdeniseee) June 20, 2021
Although the coach explained the next day that the thrown tortillas were an act of an unacceptable racist nature, the damage had already been done.
“We don’t need anyone to explain nothing more. We know what we saw and that hurts ”, said Esther Valdez, from the school committee, according to reported CBS8 .
Family members of Orange Glen students and activists have demonstrated against the events due to their discriminatory nature.
The launch of tortillas at sporting events is not entirely new to Southern California.
Fans of the University of California basketball and football teams Santa Bárbara used to throw tortillas for years, although they did it rather to celebrate the achievements of their “Gauchos ”, An act anyway seen by many as in bad taste and that was initiated since the 90 s.
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