Ossining player encounters racism during girls basketball game at Our Lady of Lourdes

Daisy Florez had her phone in hand to record the moment her daughter stepped to the free throw line for Ossining in a Section 1 girls basketball playoff game Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes.

But along with that moment in the final game of the season, Florez captured the latest racist outburst served up by a vocal student section.

"It was a big crowd and the gym was very noisy," the longtime Ossining resident said. "When you're a parent, the first thing you want to do is record your kids in action. And then everybody heard it."

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As she released the second free throw in a Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal that Lourdes had well in hand, Isabella Florez was confronted with a racial outburst referencing her Hispanic heritage.

Play continued, but several Ossining parents went looking for security personnel to voice a complaint. There was a discussion with Lourdes administrators at the end of the game, as well.

"They were denying it happened," said William Florez, who is Isabella's father. "Instead, they were looking to justify the behavior, saying the kids sometimes yell out the names of different foods to distract shooters. I mean, even if that was true ... I think even a fifth-grader knows better."

Lourdes archives livestreams of most games on a dedicated YouTube channel, so the school has its own record of the incident.

Numerous messages left for administrators at the Catholic school in Poughkeepsie were not returned, but a written statement attributed to Catherine B. Merryman, the school's president, was released late Wednesday.

"Our Lady of Lourdes High School teaches young women and men from many racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds, a values-infused curriculum, based upon the example of Jesus Christ," Merryman's statement read. "Racism is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and contrary to the values of all Catholic schools, including Our Lady of Lourdes. We have and will continue to hold our entire school community, including our students, to the highest standards of behavior."

Ossining's superintendent commented on the situation.

"There's a difference between intent and impact, and this clearly had an impact," Ossining superintendent of schools Ray Sanchez said.

It's at least the second time in a month that racist fan behavior has marred a basketball game in the region. Students at Pearl River made monkey noises on Feb. 9 while a Black player from Nyack was preparing to shoot free throws during a boys game.

That incident was also captured on video.

"It's bad enough seeing others go through something like this and it really hurts when something like that is directed at you," Daisy Florez said. "This is not acceptable. Nobody should have to go through something like this. Isabella has been setting an example. In our culture, you don't see a lot of Hispanic girls playing sports because they don't feel comfortable in that space and this will only discourage them."

Administrators from both high schools met on Monday to review the incident.

"We discussed our concerns," Sanchez said. "We think it’s obviously inappropriate and appalling . . . We made our counselors available (Monday) for any of the players who wanted to talk. We brought the team together again (Tuesday) and there are some heavy feelings so we worked to provide them a space to discuss everything and we’ll continue to do that as we move forward."

A complaint has also been registered with Section 1, which has been in contact with both schools.

The organization's Athletic Council did sanction Pearl River, forcing its boys and girls basketball teams to play remaining playoff games on the road after the school offered no plan to ensure visiting teams would not be subjected to poor fan behavior.

"At this juncture, it is the Section’s expectation that the involved districts initiate and conduct a thorough investigation," Section 1 Executive Director Todd Santabarbera said in a statement. "The Section will not tolerate negative statements or actions, inclusive of racial or discriminatory comments or slurs. The organization firmly believes in the values that athletics can bring to student-athletes and their communities. These values can only exist in an environment absent of discrimination and hate."

Santabarbera went on to say that the actions of the spectators are the responsibility of the schools.

"The expectation is that spectator remarks that are deemed inappropriate will be addressed by school district officials," he said.

Lourdes president Catherine B. Merryman and principal Meghan Vilardo met on Wednesday with Bella Florez and her parents and Ossining principal Stephen Hancock.

"I was very disappointed, very discouraged with the meeting," said Daisy Florez, noting the only apology given was informal and she believed just half-hearted.

The family would like to see a formal and public apology.

"I would like to see more awareness coming from this," William Florez said. "Educate people on the impact this has on self-esteem. People need to be more culturally aware. I also think protocols should be in place to enforce respect. The least they could've done was ask the students to leave the premises."

A number of Lourdes parents in attendance did apologize for the lack of sportsmanship to Ossining parents after the game, and one Lourdes player reached out to an Ossining player via social media to apologize for the behavior in the gym, Daisy Florez noted.

"It's not the whole school, but Isabella has been affected by this," she said. "Everyone at Ossining High School has been amazing, offering us whatever support we need. I have to say, I feel terribly sorry for Isabella, but we're speaking out so nobody else has to go through something like this. Her little sister plays basketball and was at the game and Isabella was upset she had to see this."

Mike Dougherty covers boys soccer, boys lacrosse, girls basketball and golf for The Journal News/lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com, or on Twitter @hoopsmbd, @lohudlacrosse, @lohudhoopsmbd and @lohudgolf.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Racist comment at Our Lady of Lourdes basketball game against Ossining