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ETHS board presses for accountability after racial slur at Loyola game
Summary
Board members opened the March 9 meeting to condemn a racial slur shouted at an ETHS athlete at a February game at Loyola Academy, criticized an apology as insufficient, and urged the Central Suburban League and Loyola to follow up with training and investigations including an allegation about an opposing coach, while promising to watch for concrete accountability.
The Evanston Township High School Board opened its March 9 meeting by centering a recent incident at a Loyola Academy basketball game in which an ETHS player was targeted by a racial slur.
The board president said the district appreciated the referee’s action to remove the individual who made the comment but called Loyola’s subsequent apology “insufficient,” and urged follow-through beyond apology into demonstrable accountability and training by the Central Suburban League.
“Students, our students and our staff deserve to be treated well…they don’t need to be in a space where they’re going to experience racial slurs or verbal assaults,” the board president said, adding that a restorative apology is only as meaningful as the accountability that follows.
Several board members described the episode as part of a longer pattern of racialized behavior in the league. One board member cited instances they said have included name-calling and objects being thrown at ETHS athletes, and urged the league to adopt stronger sanctions and mandatory inclusion training so schools that have been “habitual perpetrators” will stop repeating racist behavior.
Liz, a board member, provided specific detail about the game: she said a Loyola student shouted “Chewbacca” during a free throw—invoking a dehumanizing comparison that she called “hate speech” aimed at psyching out ETHS players—and said several officials and witnesses corroborated the account. Liz also reported that witnesses alleged a Loyola coach used a racial slur directed at an ETHS coach and then repeated it when confronted, a claim the board characterized as alleged and not yet independently investigated.
Board members repeatedly emphasized the difference between a public apology and concrete accountability measures. Several urged systemic, sustained training rather than one-off workshops, and asked administration to monitor whether the Central Suburban League provides substantive follow-up. One member suggested that sanctions—such as disqualification for egregious conduct—could create incentive structures to reduce racist incidents at events.
Superintendent Dr. Davis confirmed there were no public comments on the record that evening but the board said it would continue to monitor developments and to request updates about any interviews or investigations involving the alleged coach. The board urged Loyola leadership and the league to make results of their follow-up clear to the ETHS community when possible while also noting student privacy constraints.
The board did not take a formal vote on sanctions that night; members concluded the discussion by asking administration to watch for next steps and report back to the board.
