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Police chief: Juvenile admits following bus, yelling slurs

By Tyler Profilet

CAIRO, IL (KFVS) - The Goreville Police Chief says a juvenile at Goreville High School admitted to following the Cairo school bus after a basketball game Monday night and yelling racial slurs.

Goreville Police Chief Eddy Holland says no charges have been filed, but the he issue now goes to the Johnson County State's Attorney.

Cairo basketball team players and parents say they don't want to go back to Goreville for next week's regional tournament after what they say happened after Monday night's game.

They say the game was played hard and fair with no fights or verbal sparring.

But after the game, some fans reportedly yelled racial slurs at the Cairo players as they went into the locker room.

The players then got dressed and loaded the bus to head back to Cairo.

That's when they say a second disturbing incident took place.

Players and cheerleaders on the bus describe a truck displaying a rebel flag pulled up beside the bus.

Then, players say a passenger began firing what sounded like a gun into the air. However, the bus driver told police he believes the truck backfired.

They say the actions nearly caused the bus to run off the road.

Illinois State Police began an investigation Monday night.

The players on the bus say they think the attack was racially motivated, especially after hearing the name-calling after the game was over.

Now, the attention turns to next week's regional tournament which is scheduled to be hosted by Goreville.

Parent's say they're not comfortable putting the players back on the bus to Goreville after what they just faced.

"We don't want to play the regional at Goreville," said Teresa Box, whose daughter was on the bus. "It just wouldn't be fair to the kids."

"It was scary," said Cairo Senior Mark Jones. "We've never had any problem playing Goreville in the past."

Cairo High School Principal Mark McClintock says the school has contacted the Illinois High School Association to try to find a resolution to the problem.

McClintock would not say whether or not the team would travel to Goreville should the school host the tournament.

From the WPSD TV Channel 6 Website...

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Basketball game ends with racial slurs

Reporter - Robert Bradfield
Photojournalist - Ryan Brooker

ALEXANDER COUNTY, Ill. — A rather typical school day was anything but for students from Cairo High.

"The school was very disrespectful," said student Roneisha Box.

Along with her cheerleading squad and Cairo's boy's basketball team, Box said the treatment she received from Goreville High School after Monday night's basketball game was racially-charged.

"They laughed at us when we got hit with the balls," she said. "They called us typical n***ers. I've never been through that."

According to both Cairo and Goreville school principals, the racial comments happened off school property when Cairo's buses were heading back on the interstate.

Parent Teresa Box is trying to stay positive.

"I don't want this to break our kids spirit," Box told Local 6.

Goreville police identified a 16-year-old accused of waving a confederate flag out the window.

"These are children and it shouldn't happen to children," Wesley Wilson said.

Wilson's grandson plays for Cairo High.

"I could understand if it happened in the stands back and forth, but attack some children? You had them all feared."

Parents from Cairo High School want Goreville disciplined, but Goreville police said it's too early to hand out punishments and aren't calling this a hate crime.

"As Cairo, we got a bad reputation everywhere we go," Box said. "We get called a n***er in some type of way. We might not always hear it but for someone who always looks down on us to call us a n***er, it doesn't make you any better."

Police are interviewing a 16-year-old student but no charges have been filed.

From the WSIL TV Channel 3 Website...

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Cairo Team Bus Harassed Leaving Ball Game

By Dana Jay

WSIL-TV -- A Goreville High School student is being disciplined by school officials for harassing a bus full of players and cheerleaders from Cairo High School.

The people on the bus believe the incident, which followed a boys basketball game Monday night, was racially motivated.

Disciplinary action is being taken by school officials, and Goreville Police Chief Eddie Holland says an investigation by his department continues.

By most accounts the game between the Cairo High School Pilots and the Goreville High School Black Cats was a clean one.

Actions after the game have parents of Cairo players and cheerleaders, who are predominantly black, upset.

"For her to go out of town on a school trip to a game to be mistreated and disrespected is just heartbreaking," Teresa Box said, recalling a distressed phone call from her daughter, who is a Cairo cheerleader.

As the Cairo team bus—carrying players and cheerleaders-- left Goreville High School, “Two vehicles followed behind us,” said cheerleading coach Rachel Harrell.

“One raced past. We heard gunshots in the air as they hollered and there was a confederate flag on the back of their truck," Harrell said. "As they heard the gunshots, the girls folded themselves up in the seats."

While an online account by the Cairo Association of Teachers states that “the players’ bus was intentionally blocked in” to the Goreville parking lot, Harrell said that was not the case.

Surveillance video shows the Cairo bus was boarded and left the lot without incident.

What this video doesn't show is what happened inside the school, where Harrell said the kids were subjected to the N word.

"Behind me there was a group saying, 'These (expletive) thought they were going to beat us. I guess we showed them something,’” Harrell said.

“There was an older gentleman that made the comment, ‘These (expletive) got what's coming to them.’"

Harrell was quick to point out the comments were isolated, and made by adults.

Goreville High School principal Jeri Miller said attempts to identify the people who made the comments have so far been unsuccessful.

“That is not condoned here and it will not be tolerated," Miller said. She plans to address the situation with students.

Miller spent Tuesday identifying the student in the truck. She said he did not attend the basketball game.

Because he is a juvenile, the student will not be identified, and Miller would not discuss disciplinary actions, but she said further action by law enforcement may be forthcoming.

Holland said the student was in his vehicle alone, and while the bus driver reported hearing a “popping” noise, there is no evidence of gun shots being fired.

As the department continues to investigate, Holland said police are trying to determine if a second vehicle was harassing the bus or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Holland planned to speak to people on the Cairo bus on Wednesday.

In the meantime, "From the school community, I apologize for the actions of one of our students," Miller said.

Still, some in Cairo hope the incident will disqualify the school from holding next week's IHSA regional basketball tournament.

"That is a hate crime and the tournament should be moved out of Goreville," said Cairo High School parent Danny Brown.