Black Cheerleader Quits After Teammates Pose With Confederate Flag

A Black Alabama teen quit her high school’s cheer team after seeing a picture showing six of her white teammates posing for a picture holding a confederate flag t-shirt.

Reagan Coleman decided to part ways with the Daphne High School team on the first day of practice when school officials refused to address the picture, that was taken on the July 4. Coleman also said that one of the girls used the N-word multiple times and has sent her harassing text messages.

“I went from the coach to the principal, from the principal to the superintendent,” Raegan’s mother, Latitiah Coleman, said after contacting the school about the photo. “And I kept getting vague answers. It was almost like everybody was reading a script.”

Pictured in the photo were six white cheerleaders posing with a t-shirt that read “I (love) Redneck Boys.” The word “love” was a heart symbol with a confederate flag inside of it.

“No matter how much I love something, no matter how passionate I am about something, I love myself more and I respect myself more and I could not be on that team,” the former cheerleader said.

Since then, Coleman has created a petition to call for the girls to be reprimanded by the school. “They have faced remotely no consequences and are still on Daphne's Cheer Team," reads the petition, which was signed by more than 10,000 people. 

A statement was released by Baldwin County Public Schools saying that the issue was “handled at the local school level.”

“As with any student issue, federal law prohibits us from discussing disciplinary actions, if any, involving our students,” the statement read. “Our system has implemented sensitivity programs and Superintendent [Eddie] Tyler has stressed that we have zero tolerance for racism and bullying in our system.”

Photos: Getty Images


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