Racist Boy’s Basketball Jerseys Draw NAACP’s Ire

A Cincinnati-area boy’s basketball team’s jerseys were so offensive they actually caught the attention of the NAACP.

An entrant in the Cincinnati Premier Youth Basketball League (CPYBL), the team of high school-aged students from West Claremont High School, had jerseys printed with their team name, “The Wet Dream Team”, on the front and racial slurs, such as “Coon” and “Knee Grow”, on the back.

The team was in the middle of a game when referees called the game because of the jerseys.

Tony Rue, a parent in the stands at the game, told Cleveland’s ABC affiliate he was shocked by the jerseys. "I couldn't have made this up and had anyone believe me, I couldn't have," he said. "You're talking eight, nine layers of people and adults seeing these jerseys and thinking it's just a joke. 

Rue posted about the offensive jerseys on Facebook.

Joe Mallory, vice president of the Cincinnati NAACP, said his organization is investigating the incident and will want to have a talk the league.

The team’s coach, Walt Gill, apologized for the jerseys. "We sincerely apologize to anyone that was offended by the jerseys. We offered to cover them up or change, however the league saw fit to remove us and we have accepted that decision."

The team has since been banned from the league and barred from using the district's facilities. 

“CPYBL was developed to provide the best possible basketball experience for the youth of our communities and their families and has always been committed to bringing a positive experience to all of our members,” CPYBL spokesman Ben Goodyear told the Cincinnati Enquirer in a statement. “Based on the information that we received, the actions and conduct of the team in question did not comply with our stated mission and expected standards and that team has, therefore, been dismissed from our league.”