(KTLA) — A California mother is demanding change after her son was subjected to racist slurs during a recent high school basketball game.
Makai Brown, a Black Portola High School basketball player, was shooting free throws Friday night when a student from Laguna Hills High School, the opposing team, began yelling racial slurs.
The moment was captured on video and shared with KTLA.
Shouts of “Chain him up,” “Don’t let him out of his cage,” and “He’s a monkey” are among several slurs heard in the video.
Brown’s mother, Sabrina Little-Brown, expressed her concerns at the Irvine City Council meeting Tuesday night. Portola High School is located in Irvine.
Little-Brown said the comments have had a terrible impact on her son and made him pessimistic about whether anything can be done about racism.
“To me, this is a form of bullying,” Little-Brown said. “Please do your part and show him that he’s wrong and that change in this community and in the world is still possible.”
Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan expressed her support for Little-Brown during the meeting and directed a message toward Laguna Hills High School and the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.
“Fix yourselves. I’m expecting a letter, or some sort of communication from you, letting us know what you’re going to do to take care of this issue,” Khan said.
The Saddleback Valley Unified School District has issued a statement:
“Although apologies are necessary, they do not suffice. The words used by this student will never be acceptable. This is a learning opportunity for our school communities that there is ongoing work to be done in building continued mutual respect and understanding,” a portion of the statement from Superintendent Dr. Crystal Turner read.
The School District has also stated that the student who made the comments received “immediate, and appropriate consequences” and that “discipline has taken place,” the Orange County Register reported.
There was no word on what the punishment was.