Fifteen-year-old Lilly Mixon did not expect San Clemente High School football fans to repeatedly hurl racial slurs at her when she cheered for her San Diego school on Friday.
Mixon, who is black and a majorette for Lincoln High School, said she faced multiple white people calling her the N-word, three of whom told her directly to her face. Despite the display of racism from a younger child, a teenager and an adult woman on the San Clemente campus, Mixon kept right on cheering.
“They called my friend Ricardo a beaner,” Mixon said. “They were yelling at us saying that our cheerleaders were dogs and they belonged on leashes and that we don’t belong here and to go back to our country.”
On Saturday, Mixon posted her frustration with the Orange County encounter to her Instagram account, where she received a myriad of comments, both supportive and disparaging. People from San Clemente sent her messages apologizing on behalf of the town, but others called her a liar and a sore loser who is just upset that her Hornets lost to the San Clemente High Tritons, 29-0.
But majority-white San Clemente High School is conducting an investigation into the incident, according to Principal Chris Carter. Lincoln High School, which consists of mostly Hispanic and black students, has launched an investigation as well.
In a statement, Carter said that he plans to take “specific action,” to ensure that everyone feels welcome on campus, but he did not describe what form that action would take.
On Monday, Lincoln’s Vice Principal Eric Brown interviewed students who came forward with allegations of racial hatred, according to a statement from that school’s principal, Stephanie Brown.
It wasn’t just the racial slurs that made the Lincoln students uncomfortable, according to Yazmine Sua-Sanchez, one of the students who alleged San Clemente football-goers called her the N-word. Sua-Sanchez added that she and her classmates received dirty looks and an air of hostility even before people openly unleashed racial slurs.
The San Diego NAACP took notice of the event, and called on San Clemente High School to enact the following actions:
1: Institute a program of implicit bias training for all their athletics staff, including coaches and administrators.
2: Provide an administrative contact to each opposing team who will be responsible for addressing such activity the moment it occurs at any future athletic contest.
3: An announcement over the public address system at all remaining 2019-2020 athletic contests reaffirming that respect is to be shown to all visiting athletes.
As of press time, San Clemente High School has not responded to the San Diego NAACP’s list of demands.
As for Mixon, she’d just like to see San Clemente residents behave better.
“I don’t understand how you can disrespect a whole group of people,” Mixon said. “Everybody was so excited for the game and when we left we felt like garbage.”
An editorial intern and news junkie with a hankering for all things spicy, Jackson gained a passion for journalism writing about housing and homelessness in the Bay Area for the Daily Californian and the Tenderloin Tribune. When not writing, Jackson can be found rambling to anyone who listens about old movies no one else cares about. He can be reached at [email protected].
A friend of mine, his son and myself were at the game and watched on the visitors side (mid way, 40 yard line). We chose visitors side because there was ample seating and not so loud…better for just watching football. We heard none of what is alleged here and we heard nobody from Lincoln (students, parents, faculty) near us complain of any such comments. Regarding the cheer team, they were a bit to the left of us and at ground level, but I can say that they or nobody else left early. We left with about 90 sec. remaining and San Clemente had just scored to make it 29-0. There was about 4 other people who were leaving when we did. It seemed to me that we were the only people on the visitor side who were not from Lincoln high (there might have been others but I didn’t see them). The idea that there were San Clemente people yelling racial comments at the cheer leaders doesn’t seem likely as they would have to have done that in the thick of the Lincoln crowd. Again, we didn’t hear that and didn’t hear any complaint of it which we would have as it was a most vocal crowd (which we thought was cool).
Just admit, San Clemente has racist scum! To deny it would be to deny you exist. But, what do you expect from South County?
I currently go to San Clemente high school and this is all backwards. At the game there were never any racist comments made by San Clemente students. It was junior high students from out of town. I was at the game when Lincoln High school students began harassing my classmates. San Clemente is NOT a racist school. We are blamed for things that we did not even start.
You are just as bad for making a terrible prejudice statement like that.
Can’t admit false accusations and lies. Lincoln should be ashamed of themselves for false racial allegations. I hope those involved with these lies are punished.
Not denying or validating you. But let’s try to be civil and more educated before posting purely on emotion. There were some knife threats along with a predisposed mentality of racism that Lincoln had before the game began. Let your mind think rather than your rage. Thank you 🙂
Thank you for speaking up. It could just be another made up story as our mass media often displays!
We didn’t see or hear anything like that seated on the visitor’s side too.
So since YOU didn’t hear it, it didn’t happen?
Just like the other commenter here, I was at the game and decided to sit on the visitor side because the San Clemente student section was so packed. Me and my 3 friends never heard anything even remotely racist. Also there were no people telling anyone that they needed to be on a leash or anyone being told to go back to their country. I’m just saying that it’s a little odd that we conveniently didn’t hear any of the overwhelming racist comments that there apparently were.
I wasn’t at the game but my daughter was. She didn’t hear any racial slurs and as a resident of San Clemente for the past 14 years, my BS detector went off right away as soon as I heard about this nonsense. NEVER have I heard the N word used in public in San Clemente and if it ever was in a public setting? I doubt seriously that the person using it would escape without gettingMarc their ass kicked. I know I wouldn’t tolerate it and am willing to bet it was either an isolated incedent that happened to one person or just a pack of lies told by a butthurt Lincoln high school fan whining because they played so poorly. I mean come on, in this day and age no one bothered to record the alledged abuse on their phone? If you are dumb enough to believe that? I got a bridge to sell you cheap.
Racist dirt bags at OC high schools? MAGA!
Sooooo… you think someone put themselves out there to be targeted and called a liar just to be able to “make something up”? I am reminded of men who have no idea that catcalls happen… because they do not hear them. #Selective #Privilege
No evidence and many Instagram post proving Lincoln has lied from their side that were sent to OC police
I currently go to San Clemente high school and this is all backwards. At the game there were never any racist comments made by San Clemente students. It was junior high students from out of town. I was at the game when Lincoln High school students began harassing my classmates. San Clemente is NOT a racist school. We are blamed for things that we did not even start.
I’m sorry this young lady felt the way she did but I’m not entirely sold on her story. You can’t tell someone how to feel but this is serious and we need FACTS before we vilify an entire community. There are bad seeds no matter where you go but I have lived in San Clemente/Dana Point 30 years and have kids that were and are currently in school here. It’s not the culture. Everyone should be REALLY careful and certain of the FACTS before deciding who to believe. There’s always 3 sides to a story; Your’s, theirs and the truth.
San Clemente is Selma, Alabama with a beach
On the contrary, my friend’s son and two other boys went to the visitor side to watch the game up on the hill, behind the stands, (where you aren’t supposed to go) and they were told by some adults to, “Get out of here little bitches!” Luckily, that scared them and they left that area promptly rather than say something back in argument. Perhaps the racial event had just happened prior to the boys showing up and that was the parent’s reaction. Regardless, not an appropriate way to address children.
I no nothing about the dialogue that supposedly went on with some students but the news clips I saw of the Lincoln girls drill team in the stands going through all their disgusting gyrations was embarrassing. The school and NAACP should be more alarmed at that!!
Unfortunately, it seems that both schools now agree that the allegations were true. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/san-diego/story/2019-09-21/san-clemente-high-investigation-confirms-s-d-students-were-taunted-with-racial-slurs-at-football-game
All of the people who questioned the veracity of the Lincoln students simply because thir kid was at the game and “didn’t hear nothin” now have to face reality. DENIAL isn’t just a river in Egypt!
For all those people who commented this didn’t happen, the investigations now over and surprise surprise it did happen. I don’t know what’s worse all the racist comments here or the racist comments that were said at the game. Looking at you: Jay, J, Eileen, Marc, George. My racist Trump supporting parents live in San Clemente. They also claim not to see, hear, or be racist.
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