Alicia Risner took to her Facebook to share a strong message about something that happened during a recent Fostoria varsity basketball game against Eastwood High School.
She mentioned that she had watched a video from the night before where an Eastwood player intentionally threw the ball right into the face of a Fostoria player named Trey Johnson and then used the N-word against him.
According to her post, Trey responded to that, and she felt he had every right to do so because no one should have to deal with being physically attacked and then insulted in such a hateful way on top of it.
She expressed strong support for Trey, mentioning that she knows him personally and would always stand fully behind her community in situations like this.
I already I know Trey Johnson and I gonna stand ten toes behind ours PERIOD 😤
Alicia Risner
Alicia instead pointed the finger at a larger problem where racist actions often get overlooked or excused while the people who stand up against them end up facing the real consequences.
She stressed especially when it involves Black students who end up suspended, as the racist behavior gets downplayed or overlooked entirely.
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Alicia then went on to talk about how Fostoria kids have faced this kind of treatment for years whenever they travel to play in surrounding rural schools.
She said that slurs like being called “ghetto” or far worse are treated as if they mean nothing and just get ignored by those in charge.
According to her, this kind of racism does not suddenly appear on the court but gets taught and reinforced at home, and it keeps going because not enough adults speak out against it.
She wrote:
Teach kids better. Hold them accountable.
Alicia Risner
Or stop acting shocked when respect is demanded.
In her view, everyone needs to do a better job teaching young people respect and making sure they face real accountability when they cross the line.
Alicia ended her thoughts with a reference to standing united, saying “One band. One sound,” showing her support for the community and the players involved.
In fact, the comments under Alicia Risner’s post show that many people in the Fostoria community feel the same frustration she does about racism toward their kids during school sports events.
Several parents and former students describe similar experiences from years ago, like opponents calling Black players ghetto or the N-word, or even finding hateful messages such as “welcome hood rats” written in the locker room.
April Everding Crow said:
Always ghetto or the N word!! Just disgusting!!! I remember one game in particular where they wrote welcome hood rats in our teams locker room! No one should have to deal with that ignorance!!!
April Everding Crow
Many pointed out that this kind of behavior has been happening for a long time, going back generations in some families, and it often gets ignored or downplayed by teachers, coaches, and school officials.
A number of commenters blame the schools for not taking strong enough action against the students who use racial slurs, saying that usually only a quiet conversation happens and nothing real changes.
Derrek Russell wrote, “The sad part is…. Teachers and admin downplay it at Fostoria. You never hear of anything but a coach or an administrator “reaching out”’to the school and players in question. Then just like yesterday’s laundry, it’s cleaned up and never heard of again.“
They believe the kids who react to the insults end up getting punished more harshly than the ones who started it.
Some people urge Fostoria school leaders to push harder for real consequences, like suspensions for the offenders, and even suggest taking complaints to school boards or getting parents more involved to force change.
