Soccer Coaches Resign Over Alleged Ebola Taunts

Pa. students may be disciplined next after alleged digs at West African opponent
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 15, 2014 9:10 AM CDT
Soccer Coaches Resign Over Alleged Ebola Taunts
Coaches of the Northampton, Pa., soccer team have resigned after players were accused of taunting an opponent with Ebola references.   (Shutterstock)

The head coach and assistant coach for a Pennsylvania high school soccer team submitted their resignations last night after players allegedly spewed barbs about his race and Ebola at a West African opponent last Thursday, the Morning Call reports. The newspaper received at least two letters from fans who said they attended the game against Nazareth Area High School, claiming to hear the jeers that Northampton players "hoped [the teen] contracted Ebola." Both districts investigated the game, but neither made their findings public or even confirmed their probes were related to Ebola remarks. The Northampton superintendent simply stated that "appropriate discipline will be dispensed to any students who violated the code of conduct."

The taunted teen, who originally hails from Guinea and came to the US three years ago with his siblings, was reportedly so upset about the insults that he charged a Northampton player and got thrown out of the game. Edward Bachert, the teen's custodian, said the boy "cried at the kitchen table when he got home." Teammates of the West African player—who Bachert says passed on participating in league playoffs over the weekend because he was so upset—stand behind their guy, taking to social media to sell wristbands that say "#ENDRACISM." (A Massachusetts football team saw its entire season canceled after a racially tinged incident.)

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