Probe After Racist Taunts Allegedly Yelled At Black NJ Athlete

SUSSEX, NJ — A black basketball player was taunted with racial slurs during an away game in Sussex County earlier this month, the player's family said, and multiple investigations are being conducted.

The Superintendent for Wallkill Valley Regional School District, David Carr, confirmed that the district is investigating "racist and inappropriate conduct" at a recent basketball game between the regional high school and Lenape Valley. The NJSIAA is also investigating.

According to mother Stephanie Dickerson, her son, Nasir, who plays for Lenape Valley, was taunted throughout the Feb. 13 game with monkey noises and the N-word. She says those taunts included students flashing their middle fingers at her family, and that Wallkill Valley Regional administrators failed to act.

"What happened to our son at Wallkill Valley Regional High School was very disturbing. How can this school system allow such hatred at a High School basketball game and do absolutely nothing about it!" Stefanie Dickerson wrote on Facebook.

Dickerson shared her account of the game in a Facebook post that quickly gained hundreds of comments and thousands of shares.

After being shouted at the whole game, Dickerson said Nasir was pulled with a minute left in the fourth quarter. "As Nasir approached the bench my husband stood up and applauded our son for his 20 point game, his hard work and pushing through such a hostile environment. While he stood, the crowd supporting Wallkill stuck their middle fingers up and continued with the racial slurs but now it was being directed towards Nasir's father and family," Dickerson said.

At this point, two Caucasian men approached the Dickerson family, she said, identifying one as Carr. The men asked the Dickerson family to leave, threatening them with arrest if they did not.

"My husband was ejected and escorted all the way to the front door by the one man with the firearm on his hip. Nasir's grandmother left with my husband as well. My husband felt threatened, disrespected, bullied, singled out because of his color and embarrassed. Meanwhile the racial slurs continued," Dickerson wrote.

In a video shared by Dickerson, continued shouting can be heard as Nasir prepares to take a foul shot. It's unclear exactly what is being said; a version of the video published by NJ Advance Media isolates a section of audio that could contain a racial slur (you can watch both videos below).

A student from Wallkill Valley that attended the game denied that any racial taunts were shouted, telling NJ Advance Media, "We would get in so much trouble. Our athletic director and supervisors would never, ever let that slide."

Superintendent Carr said the district would be investigating, and asked that people refrained from judgment.

"As a district, we take these accusations very seriously. Racism in any form will not, nor has it ever been tolerated at Wallkill Valley Regional High School. Respectfully, I would ask that the public refrain from rushing to judgement until the district can complete its investigation," Carr wrote.

The Dickerson family is considering filing suit against the school, NJ Herald reported.

An NJSIAA spokesperson said they are aware of the incident and are also investigating.

"NJSIAA has been in touch with both schools and officials and has asked all to submit incident reports. NJSIAA has also notified the Division on Civil Rights and will keep them apprised as information becomes available. Upon receipt of the reports, we will determine if additional actions are required," they said in a statement.

The videos below contain offensive language. Viewer discretion is advised:

Mugs Media filmed the entire game. You can watch it here: