An Asian American teen was punched and called racial slurs during a travel basketball game in Oakland, Calif.
The incident was caught on video and the player’s parents claim the players behind the physical altercation were only reprimanded by tournament organizers after parents demanded something be done.
In the video of the fight, the teen, Evan, is seen trying to grab a loose ball, when the opposing player reaches it at the same time. The opposing player passes the ball to a teammate and then pushes Evan. Evan gets up and is then pushed to the ground by a second player.
Words are exchanged before Evan walks away but returns to the opposing player, who then punches Evan in the head.
“Not one single parent stood up to go protect my son, I ran across the gym to get him,” Lennie, Evan’s mother told the local San Jose CBS affiliate (last names we’re withheld for fear of retaliation).
Lennie said the opposing team had repeatedly called Evan and his South Bay Snipers teammates a racial slur used against Asians.
“They did use the ‘C’ word,” Lennie said.
“Two-thirds of the team are Asian,” Eduardo, Evan’s father said.
Lennie, Eduardo and other parents at the game say tournament organizers refused to watch the video of the altercation.
“How was a technical foul not called when he was obviously punching him in the face?” a witness named Olivia asked. “They said, ‘Oh, we saw what happened,’ and I was pressing them because I said, ‘If you saw what happened, you should not let that go!'”
Evan’s parents say the punch left him with a concussion.
“The worst part is no one apologized,” Eduardo said.
The tournament director eventually agreed the player who threw the punch would be banned for Sunday’s game but Olivia said the player who initially pushed Evan was not pulled from play.
