HOWELL, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan school district may expand social media training programs after reprimanding and disciplining students who were involved with racist messages on Twitter following a high school basketball game.
Howell Public Schools officials continue to weigh follow-up action after the tweets, which came after Howell High’s predominantly white basketball team defeated a team with black and white players, the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reports (https://bit.ly/1ge6YvG )
At least four students were involved in the posts, but weren’t affiliated with the school’s basketball program, the district said.
Details of the discipline haven’t been released. District spokesman Thomas Gould said social media training programs currently to given student-athletes could be expanded to the general school population.
“That has been mentioned,” Gould said.
Howell beat Grand Blanc 54-49 in a Class A boys’ regional final on March 13 at Linden High School, near Flint. The Twitter posts referred to Howell’s team being white and included Ku Klux Klan and Hitler references, according to The Flint Journal, which reported details of the posts.
By Friday, the newspaper said, students had apologized on Twitter.
Howell and surrounding Livingston County, located between Detroit and Lansing, have struggled to overcome a reputation for racism, earned in part because of a Klan grand dragon who used to live in the area. He would draw white supremacists from a wide area and held rallies that included cross burnings. The leader died in 1992.
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Information from: Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, https://www.livingstondaily.com
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