The Greater Cleveland Conference for Ohio high school athletics is made up of Brunswick, Elyria, Euclid, Medina, Mentor, Solon, Strongsville, and Shaker Heights. That is set to change next year.
In a public statement issued yesterday, Shaker Heights announced that it will leave the conference and join the Lake Erie League, to which it once belonged, starting in the 2020 school year.
The reasons behind that decision were laid out in the release and included an improvement in leadership in the LEL since Shaker left in 2012, issues with travel and geography while competing in the GCC (the schools stretch across four counties and, as such, there were plenty of extra miles and late nights), and last but not least, concerns that Shaker’s students were on the receiving end of racial slurs from students at other GCC schools.
“While our student-athletes have dealt with each of these incidents in a remarkably poised way, it is something that must be given serious consideration when making a decision about conference affiliation,” the release said. “The lack of diversity and cultural sensitivity in some of the communities in the GCC is a real concern.”
“I was just very concerned something bad was going to happen,” Shaker boys basketball coach Danny Young told Cleveland.com regarding some of the slurs directed at his players. “Thank God I have disciplined kids who don’t respond to that kind of stuff.”
The full statement can be read below.
The Board of Education on Tuesday gave notice it plans to accept the invitation for Shaker Heights to rejoin the Lake Erie League (LEL) beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. The Board unanimously approved the move out of the Greater Cleveland Conference (GCC) pending an impact review in January 2020 of a series of benchmarks, such as scheduling, transportation and costs. The Board will ensure that all Shaker athletic teams understand and are comfortable with this sports league change prior to the start of the 2020-2021 athletic season.The purpose of this change is to improve overall athletic competitiveness, reduce travel costs, and better support the socio-emotional development of our students. The change allows some sports greater flexibility to schedule out-of-conference games while other sports are not impacted at all. For example, the change will improve:
Sports Conference Leadership: The influx of new leadership in the Lake Erie League (LEL) over the past few years has resulted in a much higher level of professionalism and cohesion for the league. The league is in a much healthier and stable state than it was in 2012. The potential addition of Shaker Heights and Garfield Heights would further strengthen the league.
Geography/Travel: A major drawback of remaining in the GCC is travel time. Schools in the conference are located in four different counties, meaning that student-athletes find themselves returning home at late as 10:30 p.m. on a school night. With seven of the eight potential LEL schools located in Cuyahoga County, travel time would be drastically reduced. Travel costs, especially the need for contracting with independent bus services, would also be reduced.
Diversity/Cultural Sensitivity Issues: Our student-athletes have had to deal with multiple instances where they have been the subject of racial slurs on the athletic playing fields. While our student-athletes have dealt with each of these incidents in a remarkably poised way, it is something that must be given serious consideration when making a decision about conference affiliation. The lack of diversity and cultural sensitivity in some of the communities in the GCC is a real concern.
Some sports are impacted by this change and others sports are not. This change in leagues was recommended by High School Athletic Director Don Readance, who informed and received the support of Shaker coaches for this change to better the sports experience of our students.
This article appears in Jan 9-15, 2019.
The fact that Shaker felt compelled to leave because of racial slurs against their athletes is absolutely despicable. Why aren’t the coaches of these other teams not dealing with this properly? Why are the parents not teaching their children proper values? This is disgusting. We can guess where this happened and I bet it wasn’t Euclid or Elyria. The people in the communities in which this happened should be utterly ashamed of themselves for lack of proper values, ethics, and morals.
My old school was all-white and back in the day (early and mid-Sixties) we were in an eight-team league that included all-white as well as integrated schools. One of our rivals was the high school in one of the wealthiest towns in the entire country. Another was one of the largest high schools in the country, in a very diverse small city, and was surrounded by an all-black neighborhood that began maybe a mile from where I grew up.
There were incidents between the schools, but they were based on town rivalries…NEVER, EVER were they racially-motivated. And this was during the civil rights movement, when there were riots going on. But not in OUR suburbs.
I can’t believe this shit is still happening. all these decades later. Things have gotten worse, not better, and kids are worse, too. These entitled white brats are getting away with it because the affluent yuppie adults in their towns and administrators in their schools either look the other way or actually condone this racist crap, trying to unnerve the visiting teams in order to achieve victories.
One person and one person only has made it completely okay to behave in this disgusting fashion. No need to tell you who he is. His name is a short ugly word that rhymes with “dump.” yeah, THAT one.
Brunswick definitely! Not very diverse! A lot of Confederate flags flying around there. Many on truck stickers. Students calling other races out there names. Coaches only playing white players. Daddy ball. Very disturbing place to raise a family. Very primative town. They had to fire all the football coaches and the athletic director a couple of years ago because a race issue. It goes on aton all levels at Brunswick.
It is a side-bar story — but, several years ago, high school athletics directors and administrators began to lustfully chase maximum state football computer points through the formation of “super” conferences that made no geographic sense and at the expense of other school sports/extracurricular programs. It destroyed many traditional rivalries, led to skyrocketing travel costs and cratered attendance numbers. Besides that trifecta of stupidity……it has been a grand success.
Yawn. Reality strikes again and we just cant stand it, can we shaker heights?
really
We hear people talk about R.Kelly as being a Monster for what he has done! Can we label Racism and Rascist people, as being in the same category as R.Kelly? Is one not better than the other. Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. If you teach your Children to hate people based on skin color and still call yourself a child of God you are insane.
Racism is a moral issue! If you don’t see it as a Moral issue then there is something wrong with you. Racist language functions metaphorically, connecting common racist ideas to nonracist feelings, values, beliefs, and associations that are learned in the routine practices and culture of school. If I attend an all white High school with all white teachers and predominately all white staff, there is no one around to challenge me as a white student.
And how about the racial inequities at the failed CMSD?????
Oh, Not to worry, the highly paid, six-figure salaried CMSD administrators will just put another massive tax levy on us property owners so they can have millions more to waste!!!
CEO Gordon needs to be recalled now, along with Taxin Jackson, and cohort-in-thief Armond Budish!!!!