COLCHESTER, Conn. — The accusation of a racial incident that occurred at a Bacon Academy vs. Ledyard High School girls basketball game earlier this month has been found to be unsubstantiated after preliminary investigations.
The First Selectman Andreas Bisibokos of Colchester said that after conducting a preliminary investigation into the incident, the details of the report of multiple racial incidents occurring at the game on Saturday, Feb. 5 "did not add up."
"As I spoke to parents who were at the game, they denied knowledge of any racial incident occurring. Every minute of the game was mined to find a racist incident, and nothing was found. No evidence was provided to the Colchester Police Department," said Bisibokos. "In a follow-up conversation on Thursday, February 10, with the Superintendent, he admitted to me that no evidence existed, and he made his initial statement based on the word of the Ledyard Superintendent. I was extremely disappointed that our Superintendent jumped to a conclusion before a serious investigative process was conducted."
Bisibokos said he has talked with the Ledyard Chief of Police and confirmed that they are also conducting an investigation. He also has called into question Colchester Superintendent Jeffrey E. Burt's conclusion, as he believes if Burt cannot provide evidence of an incident taking place that he should resign.
Burt said in a letter to the Colchester school community Tuesday that they received a report of alleged discrimination at the game and proceeded to conduct a preliminary investigation.
Burt said administrators have not found any evidence of Bacon Academy players or staff displaying any form of racism. He said there is no evidence of anyone in attendance making a remark. He also said that there is no evidence of monkey noises being made from the crowd during a game on Dec. 21.
The Colchester school district has been working with the National Conference for Community Justice to take action amid the situation and help the school community move forward together. These actions include offering counseling opportunities for BIPOC students to process their feelings regarding recent events, reinforcing the athletic code of conduct for sporting events and establishing a coalition of student groups to identify needs and next steps for diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Superintendent of Ledyard Schools Jason Hartling posted on Facebook Tuesday night with the district's findings as well.
"Our investigation did not implicate the coaches or players for racially charged behaviors in this game. We have assisted Bacon Academy in addressing unacceptable social media postings, and will continue to do so," said Hartling.
Hartling continued by saying how interviews were conducted after the incident, including statements from parents and students who had negative experiences in the past as well.
"On Monday, February 7, I met with the team and apologized that this incident happened to them. I thanked them for the manner in which they conducted themselves and let them know their community stands by them," Hartling said in the statement.
This investigation is still ongoing.
Daniel Dashefsky is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at ddashefsky@fox61.com.
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