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Michigan High School Cancels Varsity Football Game After Racial Slurs

Pioneer High School varsity coach Jimmy Williams said he made the call to cancel the game.

A varsity high school football team in Ann Arbor, Michigan, refused to play a rival school on Friday after the rival allegedly hurled the n-word at a junior varsity team the day before. Jimmy Williams, the varsity coach at Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School, said he was told about Bedford High School’s actions Friday. “There’s no reason that this should have happened. It is unacceptable. No one should have to accept it. I’m not going to,” he told WDIV. “There’s no way whatsoever that I would allow our players to be subjected to that kind of treatment. My job is to protect these young men, to develop these young men, and to make this a great experience and that didn’t happen.”

Bedford Public Schools Superintendent Carl Schultz said the school district would investigate the claims, but said it was “disappointing” that the game was canceled “to make a statement regarding the treatment of Pioneer athletes by all teams and not specifically associated with yesterday’s alleged incident.”