In basketball today, David School leads Racism, 2-0

In light of the latest load of shit from Virgil Goode, this is somewhat sobering:

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A high school basketball team has voted to boycott a game against an opposing team that waves the Confederate flag, adding fuel to a debate over what is appropriate behavior at sporting events.

The team of eight male players, including one black student, at the private David School in Floyd County unanimously decided this week to boycott a Jan. 19 game against Allen Central High School, said Ned Pillersdorf, the David School's athletic director and boys basketball coach.

Taunting is forbidden in Kentucky high school sports, and the David players allege that the use of the Confederate flag is taunting - particularly when used like this:

Especially upsetting to the David School's team, Pillersdorf said, was when a black player was up for a foul shot and "they were waving the Confederate flag at him."

It's appalling, I know, but here come the really foul shots (pun intended):

Pillersdorf sent a letter to Allen Central officials, stating in part, "David has the only basketball team with black players in Floyd County, we want to assure you that the decision was made by all of our players."

Allen Central Principal Lorena Hall and her students have defended their Confederate emblems, saying they symbolize strength, independence and pride.

"It has nothing to do with racism," Hall said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "It's a part of us." She declined to comment Thursday.

I don't know which shocks me more: the fact that only one high school in the entire county has black basketball players, or that the principal's attitude is that the Confederate flag "has nothing to do with racism."

My high school mascot was, and remains today, the "Colonels." We used a logo not unlike that used until 2003 by Ole Miss (a/k/a the University of Mississippi), of an old "Rebel" plantation owner. The University of Nevada-Las Vegas has a somewhat more westernized Rebel representation. I'm pleased to see that apparently my high school no longer uses the "Rebel" logo, opting instead to go exclusively with the simple Chicago Bears-like "C" that has appeared on our football helmets for years.

I was in marching band. Our signature show closer was a fanfare that included a solo trumpet playing the 12-note motif of "Dixie." We had Confederate insignias of all types all around the school. And it never even occurred to me at the time that the message sent with all this might be one of racism ... and that's to my profound regret today.

It's unbelievable to me that, in 2006 (almost 2007), we're still dealing with the same issues of racist symbolism and ignorance. But, then again, I don't live in rural eastern Kentucky.

Kudos to the players of the David School. I hope others will stand with them in the weeks and months to come.

UPDATE (3:18 pm 12/22/06): Thanks to jeffraham prestonian, who led me to a PBS documentary film/series, viewable online, about the David School.