Ethnic slurs marred high school b-ball game

When two suburban Philadelphia high school baskeball teams meet tonight, all eyes will rest not on the court….but on the stands.

When two suburban Philadelphia high school baskeball teams meet tonight, all eyes will rest not on the court….but on the stands.  An incident at the last game between the Upper Darby and Lower Merion boys’ varsity basketball teams just over a month ago prompted officials from both schools to speak out. [audio: 100126LFOUTBURST.mp3]

At the game, some Upper Darby students in the stands chanted anti-semitic comments about the Holocaust — refering to Lower Merion’s large Jewish population.

Lower Merion spokesman Douglas Young says since then, students from the two schools have also met to talk about respect and cultural sensitivity.

Young: They talked a lot about the importance of staying positive at sporting events and focusing on supporting your team as opposed to targeting the opposing team.  Were there some really powerful moments in those conversation about the impact of what was said and how that can effect someone who might have been in the gym, and why it was wrong?  Absolutely.

A spokesperson for the Upper Darby School District says the students involved in the incident were disciplined, but she declined to comment on the number of students or the nature of the disciplinary action.