Tennessee HS Alleges Referee Called 14-Year Old Basketball Player Racial Slur

The Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association has launched an investigation into an allegation that a referee directed a racial slur at a 14-year-old STEM Academy girls basketball player during a game at Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Tennessee, on Wednesday night.

According to Cecil Joyce of the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress said the investigation is in its "very early" stages and is dealing with conflicting reports.

Childress noted that it isn't yet clear if it was a referee or another player who used the racial slur during the game.

After the game, STEM Academy chief executive officer Kristin McGraner wrote in a letter to the TSSAA that a "white male referee approached the 14-year-old Black female player in an aggressive manner and called her the N-word."

Despite the allegations, Joyce noted that the TSSAA reprimanded STEM Academy in three separate letters. The letters detailed a STEM fan being ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct, two STEM players getting ejected and the STEM coach forfeiting the game and removing the team from the court.

One of the letters noted that the coach will be fined $500 for the forfeiture. The game was not completed and the scheduled boys game was not played afterward.

McGraner responded with a letter to the TSSAA, writing:

"TSSAA chose to issue three letters of reprimand, financial and participation penalty against the players, and a parent who were dehumanized by the official's action. STEM Prep subsequently called the TSSAA office and Assistant Director Gene Menees directly to discuss this matter. No call has been returned. We demand that swift and decisive action be taken."

McGraner also alleged that the organization is responsible for "systematic racism" and asked for it to review "official screening and hiring practices, the code of conduct governing the behavior of all employees and contracted officials."