CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – The night before a state quarterfinal boys basketball game that already had a predominantly black school calling foul, their predominantly white opponent has suspended a top player for using a racial slur on social media.
Ardrey Kell coach Mike Craft tells The Charlotte Observer the Snapchat post using the slur in reference to West Charlotte prompted an indefinite suspension Monday night.
As the higher-seeded team, West Charlotte would normally host the playoff game, but the North Carolina High School Athletic Association said its gym was too small . Supporters asserted the move to a neutral site was race-and socioeconomics-based.
Less than 10 percent of Ardrey Kell students are on free and reduced lunch, compared to 98 percent at West Charlotte.
The unidentified player’s parents say he’s “ashamed and deeply sorrowful.”
