Iowa City High Allege Official Made “Racially-Charged Comment” Monday Night

Following the boy’s basketball game between Fairfield and Iowa City High School, Iowa City High is alleging that an official made a “racially-charged” comment toward City High’s head coach Brennan Swayzer in an email sent out to parents of the school district on Tuesday.

Dear City High Families, Students, and Staff,

We want to share details about an unfortunate incident that occurred at last night’s boys’ basketball game in Fairfield.

During the game, an official directed a racially-charged comment toward our coach. The Iowa City Community School District never condones racism. We stand by our students and staff of color. We are also addressing an incident of physical aggression and helping our students learn better ways to handle a volatile situation.

Due to the unsafe environment within the gym, our coaches decided to remove our student-athletes. Our team received a police escort to the locker room, out to the bus, and out of town.

While this is certainly not how we wanted this game to play out, we are thankful that the situation was de-escalated and we could safely leave the school. If you have concerns or are in need of support, please know that we are here to help. If your child would like to speak with a school counselor, please contact the school.

Sincerely,
John Bacon
Principal
City High School

Swayzer was ejected in the third quarter of the game after receiving two technical fouls.

Monday night’s game officials were supplied by the Iowa City Athletic Officials Association. The ICAOA has since denied those allegations in a statement on Tuesday.

The officials involed categorically deny making any such statements. In fact, it’s completely out of character for all of them, and they are shocked and hurt by the accusation

The ICAOA is upset with the Iowa City Community School District for releasing the accusation before contacting them first.

It’s concerning that the school district would put out a statement accusing the on-court officials of making racially charged comments without first speaking to the officials or the association.

Accusations like this deserve to be fully investigated by the appropriate governing bodies and we welcome such an investigation and our members will fully cooperate

The ICAOA has worked with the ICCSD since 1970

The game ended with two minutes left in the fourth quarter as a City High player shoved a Fairfield player to the ground, causing the benches to clear. Following the altercation, both teams sent their players to their respective locker rooms, they took a five minute break, then City High came out and decided to forfeit the remainder of the game. 

The Iowa High School Athletic Association is investigating the incident.