During the playing of the United States national anthem ahead of Norman High and Midwest City’s game on Thursday, an announcer was heard making racist comments toward NHS players on a feed streaming the Class 6A girls state quarterfinals.
The individual’s comments, which were shared in a video posted to Twitter Friday morning, were made after noticing the NHS players were kneeling during the national anthem.
“They’re kneeling? F***** n*****,” stated the individual, who’s identified himself as Matt Rowan, who owns OSPN Live, in Tahlequah, and had been under contract to film the playoff games.
“I hope Norman gets their ass kicked. F*** them. I hope they lose. C’mon Midwest City. They’re gonna kneel like that? Hell no.”
Rowan, who says he was at one time a youth pastor, released a written statement Friday evening.
“During the Norman High School girls basketball game against Midwest City, I made inappropriate and racist comments believing that the microphone was off; however, let me state immediately that is no excuse, such comments should have never been uttered,” Rowan said in the statement.
“… I have not only embarrassed and disappointed myself I have embarrassed and disappointed my family and my friends.
”I will state that I suffer Type 1 Diabetes and during the game my sugar was spiking. While not excusing my remarks it is not unusual when my sugar spikes that I become disoriented and often say things that are not appropriate as well as hurtful. I do not believe that I would have made such horrible statements absent my sugar spiking.
“During this time I was with a colleague and friend Scott Sapulpa. Scott Sapulpa was not the one that made these comments, it was me and me alone. It is not my desire to shirk my responsibility in this matter and I certainly do not want Scott Sapulpa to share in the blame of this most unfortunate incident.“
”… I offer my most sincere apologies for the inappropriate comments made and hope that I can obtain forgiveness. I specifically apologize to the Norman High School girls basketball team, their families, their coaches and their entire school system.”
Scott Sapulpa is a Hulbert coach. On Friday, Hulbert Public Schools Superintendent Jolyn Choate also released a statement, saying she recognized that Sapulpa was in the box and that he had failed to defend the Norman High girls basketball team while the remarks were being made.
“… Our employee should have stood up for the students and condemned the racist language from the other announcer and the hate and intolerance it represents,” said Choate. “Our district strives to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe and valued. We will not accept or tolerate racist and hateful language or actions, nor will we stand by silently and allow racism to go unchallenged.”
No word has been issued as far as repercussions for the Hulbert employee.
The play-by-play crew was contracted by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association to announce the game on a National Federation of High School (NFHS) Network online stream.
In a statement, the OSSAA said it would not use the play-by-play crew for the rest of its championship games.
“On behalf of the NFHS Network and the OSSAA, we sincerely apologize that this happened at one of our events,” OSSAA executive director David Jackson said. “While we are currently investigating the incident, this crew will not be doing any more games for the remainder of our championships. This kind of behavior will never be tolerated by anyone representing the NFHS or OSSAA.”
The NFHS Network said it is “aggressively investigating the incident” and assures it will end all relationships with the individuals involved.
Norman Public Schools said it will no longer rely on the network to broadcast its games and that it supports its players, who have been kneeling before each game since mid-January.
“We fully support our students’ right to freedom of expression and our immediate focus is to support these girls and their coaches and families, particularly our Black students and coaching staff,” NPS Superintendent Dr. Nick Migliorino said in a statement.
“It is tragic that the hard work and skill of this team is being overshadowed by the vile, malignant words of these individuals. We will do everything in our power to support and uplift our team and everyone affected by this incident.”
Several NHS players responded to the video via their social media accounts, including senior post Chantae Embry, who is signed to play with Texas Tech.
“People want to know why we kneel,” Embry tweeted, “here’s a prime example of why we do it. I’m proud of my team and I for using our voices and being heard.”
The players were flooded with messages on social media, including Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, who offered her support for NHS’ student-athletes.
“The remarks made were sickening and vile,” Hofmeister said in a statement. “It is critical on all of us to be clear that racism has no place in society and must never be tolerated, especially in our public schools. My heart aches for the young female athletes who were subjected to this hateful and disgusting tirade.”
The NHS girls faced Tulsa Union on Friday in Sapulpa. The Tigers won 53-50 to advance to Saturday’s state championship game.
Staff from the Tahlequah Daily Press contributed to this story.
