In Western New York, where high school football is practically religion, one mother has had enough.
Kareema Morris, founder of the anti-violence nonprofit Bury The Violence, Western New York’s first USA TODAY New York State Woman of the Year, and a community leader who has spent decades advocating for safer streets, is now fighting for something even more personal: her youngest son’s peace.
Kaiden Wright, a junior cornerback (#0) at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, earned a full scholarship to the private Catholic school after his mother prayed relentlessly during the pandemic lockdown for a door to open.
She wanted him far away from the bullying and chaos she had seen in some public schools.
As the baby of her six children, Kaiden’s sensitive nature made her especially protective.
That fresh start, she thought, would finally give him the environment he deserved.
It didn’t turn out that way.
During a heated rivalry game earlier this season, an opposing player charged at Kaiden on the field, got nose-to-nose, and spat directly in his face.
Anyone who has ever been spit on knows the visceral violation of that act. Kaiden, a teenager wearing a helmet, snapped in front of hundreds of people.
He defended himself. The fight was broken up quickly, but the consequences were not equal.
Kaiden was ejected and suspended for multiple games. The player who initiated everything and spat on him? He stayed in the game and faced no public discipline.
Fast-forward to the rematch last week. Kareema told her son, Kaiden listened.
“Handle your business. Focus. Don’t let the noise pull you out of character.”
Via Facebook
Kaiden listened.
He played one of the best games of his young career, two forced fumbles and an interception (News 4 WIVB made sure Buffalo saw the highlights).
But the trash-talking from the opposing sideline never stopped.
A few days later, someone from that school reported Kaiden’s social media accounts. Instagram, TikTok – gone.
Kareema, who has had sons playing WNY football for 26 years, posted a raw, heartfelt message that has now been shared hundreds of times.
In it, she wrote,
“My Black son is already the minority in these school spaces. I won’t sit back and wait for a second round of foolishness.”
Via Facebook
She made it clear: “Boys will be boys” is dead. Moms will be moms, and this mama bear is fully activated.
The Western New York parent community immediately wrapped its arms around her.
One mother wrote,
“He handled it about as gracefully as I would have if I got spat on… gloves would have came off and I’m grown.”
Via Facebook
Another football mom admitted she now attends every single game “not only to support my son but to protect him from any bs,” adding that some kids today cross every line on social media, threatening players and even their families.
Others shared their own painful memories of similar incidents years ago that also went unaddressed.
What stings Kareema the most is the silence. No public statement from the opposing school. No acknowledgment that spitting on another human being is assault.
No apparent consequence for the player who started it all. Just her Black son missing games, reflecting, regrouping, and now having his voice silenced online while trying to keep his head high.
St. Francis High School, Section VI officials, and the opposing program have not responded publicly to the incident or the growing questions about fairness, sportsmanship, and whether Black student-athletes are held to a different standard in predominantly white private-school leagues.
Kareema Morris has spent years teaching young people how to bury violence instead of each other.
Now she’s making sure the entire region hears her roar: her son’s education, his safety, and his mental health are non-negotiable.
If that means meetings, media, transferring schools, or whatever else it takes, she’s ready.
Because when a Black son was spat on and the only person punished was the one who defended himself, sometimes the most powerful response left is a mother who refuses to be silent.
