Doctored post threatening Ardrey Kell player brings added tension to basketball game.
A pivotal playoff matchup between two of Charlotte’s best high school basketball teams was marred by racist and violent online posts linked to two of the best players.
One of the messages was real, according to Ardrey Kell officials. West Charlotte High says the other was fake.
The first, which surfaced over the weekend before Tuesday’s game was written by a star player from Kell who used a racial slur in a crude boast directed at the West Charlotte team. The player was suspended from his team and his parents issued a public apology. The Observer is not identifying him.
On Monday night, a second Snapchat post brought stirred more off-court tension. This one featured a prominent member of the West Charlotte team threatening to shoot the Ardrey Kell player who authored the original inflammatory post.
West Charlotte school officials said the second post was doctored.
“Our students had nothing to do with that,” school principal Timisha Barnes-Jones told the Observer during Tuesday’s game, which West Charlotte won 69-53.
“It looked exactly like the (original post from the Ardrey Kell player) but with a bit of a word switch.”
West Charlotte coach Jacoby Davis said the second post made for a tumultuous Tuesday morning at the school. Davis said police were called and were about to go to his player’s home before school officials intervened and convinced authorities the post was not authentic.
The West Charlotte player told the Observer that he had deleted his Instagram and Snapchat accounts over the weekend and never saw the offending post.
“My mom called me (Tuesday) morning,” said the player, whom the Observer is not identifying, after the Tuesday night win over Ardey Kell. “She said, ‘Your athletic director wants you to come to school, something about you shooting up Ardrey Kell players.’ I know I didn’t say that.
“Everybody had my back. West Charlotte had my back. Of course, they knew I didn’t say that.”
Ardrey Kell coach Mike Craft said after the game that the off-court controversies provided a painful teaching moment for all involved, including his suspended player.
“We learned that social media can really blow up in a hurry,” he said. “As a 17-year-old kid, he’s made a mistake he really, really regrets. And it’s not indicative of our program, but yes I think everybody can learn from that.”
Staff Writer Teo Armus contributed.
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 7:32 AM.
