A high school in Gwinnett County, Georgia, is in hot water after its band displayed a racial slur during a halftime performance on Friday night.
The four-letter racial epithet was spelled out by members of the Brookwood High School marching band, who used their instrument covers to pull off the stunt while on the pitch.
According to The Sun Herald, Bo Ford, the principal of the Snellville-based school, explained the details of the incident in an email sent to the parents the following day.
"The covers spell out BRONCOS and some of them feature our Bronco mascot," he wrote.
"Our band does not wear these covers on the field because they shield the sound and because during the halftime show our band members move around the field and do not stand in the same order as they do in the stands."
In the correspondence, Ford explained certain instruments have covers that spell out the name of the school's sports team, the Broncos. While the covers are not normally worn on the field, four of them found their way onto the turf at halftime of Brookwood's game against Lakeside High School on November 2 and were arranged to spell the racial slur.
The band maintained its formation long enough to allow stunned fans to capture the stunt on camera. These photos were then shared on social media.
"You're bold enough on senior night, that means your parents your grandparents are there [...] you're bold enough to spell those words, and stay there long enough to have everyone take pictures?" Shawn Myers, whose son is a freshman in the band at Brookwood High School, was quoted as saying by FOX 5 Atlanta.
"That's not right. It isn't a raccoon. The mascot is a horse, it's a bronco, and the 'B' and the 'R' were nowhere near."
As per the Associated Press, in his email Ford said the action of some bandmembers went against "band rules," adding the word was "hurtful, disrespectful and disappointing" and a "completely unacceptable racial term."
Ford also stated the students involved would face disciplinary actions. Parents are reportedly calling for the perpetrators to be expelled.
"Haven't heard it in years, it's to belittle black people, it's an insult," Myers added. "It's just like saying the n-word, but this is worse because it's coming from students at a public high school.
"I want them expelled. I will not stop until these students are expelled. They do not need to be back in that school until they learn that everyone is there for the same reason—regardless of color—to get an education."
The incident marred an otherwise dominant performance from Brookwood, who claimed a 52-7 win to move to 7-3, while Lakeside slumped to 1-9.
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