Prior Lake ends girls' basketball season after racist note found in player's bag

The Prior Lake High School girls' basketball team will forfeit its final game of the season and its first-round playoff match after a sophomore player discovered a racist note in her gym bag, school board Chair Michael Nelson and Superintendent Teri Staloch wrote in a note to families Thursday.

Lakers head coach Demondi Johnson also announced his resignation on Twitter.

"The decision made about the remainder of the girls' basketball season demonstrates swift action and a strong stance that racism is not acceptable and that there are consequences for actions," Nelson said.

Johnson said he hoped whoever left the racist note "can be educated, be held accountable, heal their hearts of hatred, and learn to love those who look different from them."

Prior Lake garnered national attention late last year when footage of two high school students berating a Black classmate with a racist slur went viral, leading to protests on campus and in downtown Minneapolis.

The decision to end the girls' basketball season comes the same week that St. Louis Park and Robbinsdale school districts announced they'll no longer play against New Prague High after that school's athletes and fans reportedly lobbed racist insults at boys' hockey and girls' basketball players during separate matches on Feb. 15.

In the wake of the New Prague incidents, the Minnesota State High School League announced a partnership with several other education-focused organizations to "identify and provide resources to assist schools" in addressing racist incidents during sporting events. They'll also convene a pair of student groups to assist in those efforts.

One of those student groups will draft a code of conduct for athletes and participants during sporting events. The other will work to "raise awareness about student conduct, bullying, gender, race and other issues and assist in the development of tools for all schools."