Outraged parents say Georgia cheerleaders were kicked off team for complaining about coach calling them the N-word, but no one was punished

A Georgia school district has reached a civil rights settlement on find out how to reply to incidents of racial harassment after two former black students were called a derogatory name by their cheerleading coach, but their parents are concerned the district won’t implement the measures.

Antwishia Thomas and Cortese Walker filed two complaints against the Houston County School District on January 15, 2020, after they learned that Veterans High School coach Daniel Satterfield called their daughters the N-word twice during cheerleading practice in October 2019.

Thomas and Walker told The Macon Telegraph that the junior varsity coach notified them of the insult. The coach confronted Satterfield, who “apologized” and said he was “quoting lyrics,” in keeping with investigative documents from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

Both parents reported the incident to high school administrators. However, during an internal investigation, all coaches told administrators that nothing “out of the ordinary” happened at practice, including the JV coach.

Thomas and Walker also told school officials that Satterfield had a habit of bringing up questionable and offensive topics related to race with their daughters, including making comments about dark skin and calling Walker’s daughter “ghetto.” Both girls were the only black cheerleaders on the team.

After the racial slur was reported to the school, Satterfield’s wife, head cheerleading coach Katie Satterfield, allegedly responded to each girls by refusing to permit them to help with stunts and ultimately deeming them “uncoachable.” The girls were kicked off the team shortly thereafter.

After the district learned that three cheerleading coaches who were initially approached about the racial slur had lied when officials questioned them, the girls were allowed to return to the team. The school ordered all of the team’s practices to be held on campus and coordinated administrator attendance at practices to observe the team.

Thomas also reported the harassment to the Houston County Board of Education, but VHS administrators were the only officials who made contact together with her and really helpful measures that ended with each girls being isolated and exposed to harassment from other students.

According to court documents, although the district issued a letter regarding the head coach’s professionalism and responsibility, the Office of Civil Rights found no evidence that officials implemented “any corrective actions or had any dialogue that focused on ensuring the head coach had a work environment free from discrimination.”

Before the federal office concluded its investigation, the Houston County School District contacted us expressing its desire to resolve the criticism.

On July 17, an agreement was reached to resolve the issue. It requires the school system to issue an announcement prohibiting racial harassment in the district, train all school personnel on racial discrimination and promptly address all reports of racial harassment, amongst other measures.

The agreement doesn’t require the district to confess any wrongdoing or liability.

Thomas and Walker said they feel the Satterfields were never fully held accountable for their actions and would have felt higher if the district had apologized to them when the situation occurred.

“They believe in protecting their employees and administrators,” Walker said. he stated“It’s not about protecting children. Children were portrayed as the villains, and they saw it. They saw it happen and they didn’t talk about it.”

Daniel Satterfield no longer works at Veterans High School. His wife, Katie, resigned as head cheerleading coach in December 2019 as a result of “health issues.”

“Their behavior was ignored” – Thomas he noticed“There were no punishments. If a child had done anything these adults did, they would have been immediately expelled from school.”

Thomas added that the resolution may look good on paper, but she worries the district won’t fairly implement the actions taken, which could lead on to potential future incidents of racial harassment going unchecked.

“Do I feel like they’re going to make and implement changes? I have no doubt they’re just going to put it on hold,” Thomas said.

The Houston County School District released an announcement after the agreement was reached.

“While the District cannot comment on staff or student matters, we are committed to providing our schools with a safe and caring environment for all students,” the District said. “We reinforce this value by providing training to all staff and students on bullying and harassment. If a student ever feels harassed, we encourage them to talk to a counselor or administrator. Our school district also uses Anonymous Alerts, which is a safe way to report any form of bullying in our schools. We will continue to focus on meeting the social, emotional, and academic needs of our students.”