Jefferson High School in Portland has not explained why one of its football players knocked down an opponent carrying an American flag onto the field before Friday night’s rivalry game against Grant High School.
Jefferson Athletic Director Donnie Siel did not respond to a phone call Monday afternoon seeking comment. Jefferson principal Drake Shelton also did not respond, and a message left with his office went unanswered.
The Oregon School Activities Association, which governs high school athletics in the state, confirmed it is aware of the incident. The association said the player involved was ejected and did not play in the game. “Rivalry game or not, there’s no place for this behavior before, during, or after an interscholastic contest,” the OSAA said in a statement.
Whether the Grant player was targeted specifically because he was carrying the flag remains unclear. Jefferson’s football team deleted its Instagram account following the incident, making it harder to piece together what happened. Screenshots of a since-deleted post from the team’s account were preserved by Taren Feist, an Oregon-based campaign manager.
According to those screenshots, the Jefferson account posted a statement saying the video of the hit “was not intended to disrespect the American flag.” The statement said Grant players and coaching staff had shown disrespect toward Jefferson before the game, adding, “if you were there to witness what happened, you would understand the full context.”
The post went on to say there had been an option for the Grant player to walk around the field but he chose not to. It described the game as Jefferson’s last ever at Jefferson Field, as well as the school’s Senior Night and Homecoming. “This was a special and emotional night for our school, our seniors, our players, and our community,” the post read. “What happened before the game was not appropriate, especially given the significance of the occasion.”
The statement also pushed back against anyone using the incident to target the school’s students or staff. “You will not use this situation as an excuse to be racist toward my students, my players, our staff, or anyone who represents Jefferson,” it read. “At Jefferson, we are proud of who we are. We are Black, Hispanic, white, and people from many different backgrounds who come together as one school and one community. Our diversity is something to be proud of, not something to attack.”
Grant won the game 35-14. The loss dropped Jefferson’s record to 1-6, while Grant improved to 6-1.
