Lutheran High School pressed for further response on racism allegations at recent football games
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — As the fallout from the allegations of racism by Lutheran High School against two Colorado Springs schools continues, KRDO13 is seeking more answers from Lutheran officials.
KRDO13 was the first to break the story about students from Lutheran High School allegedly making racist remarks and saying racial slurs to Colorado Springs students from Sand Creek and Rampart High School during recent football games.
RELATED COVERAGE: Sand Creek High School students allege racism from Lutheran High School students
The story garnered statewide attention.
A few days after the initial report, Air Academy High School announced it was forfeiting its homecoming game against Lutheran High School because of a lack of coaches. KRDO13 later confirmed that the Air Academy coaching staff decided to forfeit their homecoming game to protect their players from potentially being exposed to racism.
RELATED COVERAGE: Sources close to Air Academy football cite Lutheran racism allegations as reason for homecoming forfeit
KRDO13 went to the town of Parker, where Lutheran High School is, on Friday, to try to speak to someone from Lutheran about the allegations and get their thoughts on the investigation. This came after multiple attempts over the last few days to schedule an interview with Lutheran officials, several without a response.
Upon a KRDO13 crew's arrival at Lutheran High School, they were immediately turned away by security.
KRDO13 once again tried to reach Lutheran Executive Director Dan Gehrke by phone, but only got his voicemail. The message left says, in part:
"Hey Dan. This is Danny Mata at KRDO13. I wanted to know if you would sit down and just talk with us for five minutes... This is a chance for you guys to tell your side of the story. If you feel like we've blown this story out of proportion, that's fine. You can say that. If you feel like the coverage has been unfair, that's fine; you can say that. Everyone's heard from everyone else, and we haven't heard from Lutheran."
KRDO13 never received a call back.
KRDO13 also asked CHSAA, the governing body for high school sports in Colorado, for an interview on Friday, and they declined.
On Thursday night, CHSAA met with officials from Lutheran. After that meeting, CHSAA released this statement to KRDO13:
"This week, members of the CHSAA office had in-depth conversations with administrators from Lutheran High School, Sand Creek High School and other member schools regarding reported incidents of racism.
These conversations were about more than any single incident. CHSAA is committed to an environment free from racism and discrimination, and that requires more than responding to individual reports. It means working with our member schools to build communities where every participant is treated with dignity and respect.
Our member schools are conducting their own investigations, and CHSAA will review their findings before making any decisions. We understand the desire for immediate action. But decisions of this weight must be based on complete information, and acting before we have it would not serve student participants or our member schools. If CHSAA bylaws are determined to have been violated, consequences will be determined according to those bylaws.
At the same time, the work ahead does not depend on any single finding. Our goal is lasting, positive change for every student who competes in Colorado."
Lutheran is scheduled to face Coronado High School next week in Colorado Springs. KRDO13 has reached out to Coronado, asking if they intend to play that game. As of Friday afternoon, we have not received a response.
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