Black high school football player forced to sit in locker with banana peels


Black high school football player is filmed being forced to sit in a locker filled with banana peels after teammate threatened to ‘break his knees’ if he didn’t do it

  • Police are investigating the incident at Moline High School in northwest Illinois after footage of it was widely shared on social media at the weekend
  • The 11-second video, which was shot on Thursday night, shows a player threatening the black teen to sit in the locker that was filled with banana peels 
  • That player, whose face doesn’t appear in the video, can be heard saying: ‘Or I’ll break both your knees’ 
  • When the black player, who has not been named, eventually sits down, others in the locker room can be heard shouting: ‘Yeah!’ 
  • Detectives spent the weekend interviewing the players, coaches and staff members before turning their findings over to prosecutors 

A black high school football player has been filmed being forced to sit in a locker littered with banana peels after a teammate threatened to break his knees if he didn’t do it. 

Police are investigating the incident at Moline High School in northwest Illinois after footage of it was widely shared on social media at the weekend. 

The 11-second video, which was shot on Thursday night, shows a player threatening the black teen to sit in the locker that was filled with banana peels. 

That player, whose face doesn’t appear in the video, can be heard saying: ‘Or I’ll break both your knees’.

When the black player, whose name or age hasn’t been released, eventually sits down, others in the locker room can be heard shouting: ‘Yeah!’ 

A black football player at Moline High School in northwest Illinois has been filmed being forced to sit in a locker littered with banana peels after a teammate threatened to break his knees if he didn't do it

A black football player at Moline High School in northwest Illinois has been filmed being forced to sit in a locker littered with banana peels after a teammate threatened to break his knees if he didn’t do it

Police are investigating the incident at Moline High School after footage of it was widely shared on social media at the weekend

Police are investigating the incident at Moline High School after footage of it was widely shared on social media at the weekend

Moline Police Chief Darren Gault called the incident a ‘disturbing racist scene’. 

Gault said the investigation determined the people involved were teammates ‘of both different and similar races to the victim’. 

He also said all players involved have been identified and that they are all friends.

‘Regardless of these facts, we all agree that this is a disgusting way to treat a fellow teammate, a fellow human being and most certainly a friend,’ Gault said.

‘We all agree that regardless if the students viewed this as a joke, it is unacceptable behavior.’ 

Authorities became aware of the video after it was widely shared on Friday night.   

The Moline football team played an away game on Friday night and detectives were already at the school waiting to speak to the players when they arrived back at the school shortly before midnight. 

Detectives spent the weekend interviewing the players, coaches and staff members before turning their findings over to prosecutors. 

The 11-second video, which was shot on Thursday night, shows a player threatening the black teen to sit in the locker that was filled with banana peels

When the player eventually sits down, others in the locker room can be heard shouting: 'Yeah!'

The 11-second video, which was shot on Thursday night, shows a player threatening the black teen to sit in the locker that was filled with banana peels. When the player eventually sits down, others in the locker room can be heard shouting: ‘Yeah!’

Police said the investigation determined the people involved in the video were teammates 'of both different and similar races to the victim'

Police said the investigation determined the people involved in the video were teammates ‘of both different and similar races to the victim’ 

The Moline-Coal Valley School District said it would conduct its own investigation of the incident to determine if there were any school code violations or violations of district polices.

‘The vile behavior depicted in the video does not represent our core values and has no place in our learning community,’ school district spokeswoman Candace Sountris said in a statement. 

‘Clearly, we have work to do. Decisive action will be taken upon the conclusion of both the law enforcement and the school district’s internal investigation.’

Moline Mayor-elect Sangeetha Rayapati, who is also the school board chair, said in a statement that adults have ‘a responsibility to hold individuals involved in this incident accountable’.

‘I speak from the heart when I say we have a responsibility to teach them a better way. It’s awful to know a child was treated that way. It’s awful to know that that child will be marked forever by the incident and the disrespect they received. And it’s awful to know other children would see this as a joke,’ she said.

The Moline-Coal Valley School District said it would conduct its own investigation of the incident to determine if there were any school code violations or violations of district polices

The Moline-Coal Valley School District said it would conduct its own investigation of the incident to determine if there were any school code violations or violations of district polices

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