NJ Athletic Association Launches Probe After High School Football Team Alleges Racial Taunting

SUMMIT, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is investigating after football players at North Plainfield High School say they were the victims of racial taunting by another team.

The probe comes in response to an exclusive CBS 2 report Monday.

As CBS 2's Christine Sloan reported, the players said the harassment involved the use of bananas by the opposing Summit High School team as a racially offensive joke before a game Saturday at Summit High.

"It was in the door (of the visiting locker room), and you could see through the door, because it didn't have ... no doorknobs -- so you could see right through the hole," said North Plainfield football player Anthony Lafond. "And they put the banana right through there."

"Right away, there was a banana in the door," said North Plainfield football player J.T. Valley. "And we told our coach. We're like, 'Coach, there's a banana in there.' So we took the banana, and then all of a sudden, they put another one. And we took the banana out, and there was another one in there. And they kept on putting them in there."

North Plainfield High School's team is racially diverse.

Summit schools Superintendent Nathan Parker, who declined to be interviewed on camera, said Tuesday placing bananas in the doorknob is something players have been doing since last year to prevent people from looking in.

"It went on to be considered good luck when Summit won a state championship last season," Parker said in a statement.

"One of Summit's players began this practice again on Saturday. The North Plainfield team interpreted the action as a racial taunt," the superintendent continued.

'There was no intent to be insulting to the North Plainfield football players, and we apologize that they were made to feel that way."

The Interscholastic Athletic Association, however, is investigating what it has called an "alleged bias incident."

The organization is the first in the nation to establish a sportsmanlike policy and works with the attorney general's office.

The athletic association has asked both schools to submit reports on the incident. The findings could be handed over to the attorney general's office to see if criminal charged should be filed.

Mark Brown, a Summit resident who goes to all the school's football games, said he has spoken to four of the players.

"They said it was all a joke," Brown said. "They weren't trying to be racial."

But Michael Boskett, a former football player for Summit High School, doesn't buy the superintendent's explanation.

"Some part of the management has to know about it," he said. "And if they're playing stupid, it's unfortunate because that's not the Summit way."

North Plainfield school officials have not returned CBS 2's calls.

However, North Plainfield players who were interviewed said they don't remember seeing bananas when they played Summit last season.

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