High School Band in Georgia Spells Out Racial Slur During Halftime Performance

There was an ugly incident at halftime of a Georgia high school game on Friday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

The game was between Gwinnett County’s Brookwood High and DeKalb County’s Lakeside High. Brookwood Band members were supposed to spell out the word “broncos,” but instead spelled out the word “coon.”

In a letter to students, parents and the community Brookwood Principal William Bo Ford Jr. apologized for the “completely unacceptable, racial term. “

The AJC posted the letter it received from a parent.

“For those of you who have attended our games, you may have noticed that the sousaphones (a brass instrument similar to a tuba) wear covers in the stands to show school spirit. The covers spell out BRONCOS and some of them feature our Bronco mascot. 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. That said, last night during what was already a very busy senior night, we experienced several personnel challenges that resulted in our band director not being on the field when the band took the field. 

With that in mind, when the sousaphone players took the field, they did not follow band rules and normal practice, and instead, they left the covers on their instruments.” 

In the apology, Ford said, the event is under investigation there will be “disciplinary action with the students involved.” 

Awful, awful stuff.