High School show Lyse Slot was scheduled joke

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA. –

According to the school district, several students involved in writing a racial slogan during a parade in Georgia this weekend admitted to planning the whole thing.

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Updated from 3:15 pm EDT on November 5th: Four members of the Brookwood High School fanfare planned the joke on Friday night, where they spelled a racial insult during the halftime show.

After an investigation Monday, director William Bo Ford Jr. issued the following statement:

"As promised, we opened an investigation into this case and I wanted to share with you our current findings and the steps we are taking with the students who have been involved. After in-depth interviews with many students, we determined that three seniors intentionally planned and executed the use of sousaphone coverage to clarify a totally unacceptable racist term. The fourth student, a junior, who wore one of the letters spelling out the word, seems to have adhered to the plan at the last minute. However, the four students knew what was going to happen and what they were saying during the halftime show. In our interviews, students – including two African Americans, an Asian and a Hispanic – said that it was a joke, one they thought was funny. However, they acknowledged that they knew that this racist term was not acceptable. We identified two other students who do not seem to be involved in planning and running but who actually provided false information to school officials. All six of these students will receive disciplinary consequences commensurate with their involvement in this incident. "

Original report: The half-time show at Gwinnett County's Brookwood High Friday night football game and DeKalb County's Lakeside High featured spectators brimming with points.

Some group members have come together to spell the word "coon" with the help of instrument covers normally used to spell "broncos", the school mascot.

In a letter to students, parents and the community, William Bo Ford Jr., principal of Brookwood, apologized for the term "totally unacceptable and racial". "

A concerned resident sent a photo and a copy of the letter to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Ford explained how the incident occurred:

"For those of you who have been to our games, you may have noticed that the sousaphones (a snorkel-like copper instrument) are wearing covers in the stands to show the spirit of 39; school. The covers spell BRONCOS and some of them present our mascot Bronco. Our group does not wear these covers on the field, because they protect the sound and because during the half-time, our members move on the ground and do not rank in the same order as in the stands. That said, last night, during a very busy senior night, we encountered several staffing issues that resulted in our group director not being on the field when the group took over. field.

Keeping that in mind, when the sousaphone players took the field, they did not follow the rules of the band and normal practices. Instead, they left the covers on their instruments. "

In the excuses, Ford said, the event is under investigation, there will be "disciplinary action with students involved".

He wrote:

"Not only did the appearance of this term on our half-time show was hurtful and disrespectful to audience members, but also disappointing because it does not reflect the norms and beliefs of the audience. our school and our community. We are a very inclusive community and we care about all our students. We are concerned about this situation and we are determined to take steps to ensure that it does not happen again. "

Ford did not say whether any action would be taken against school staff, but said the half-time procedures would be reconsidered.

Gwinnett County school spokeswoman Sloan Roach said she did not plan any action on the part of the staff and she could not "speculate on the discipline to be applied to the students because school is still in progress.

WSBTV.com contributed to this report.