Unidentifiable Patterson High football players were involved in a fight after a racial epithet was directed toward the team as players exited the field toward the locker room area, police said. No players were implicated or charged because they could not be identified due to their football uniforms and equipment, according to police.
A 14-year-old Auburn boy directed the epithet at the team, and a skirmish began. Police found one of the offender’s friends on the ground after they broke up the fight, according to reports. A female juvenile was seen being loaded by stretcher into an ambulance nearby.
The boy who spoke the slur is not a student at Placer High, and neither was his friend, according to police, but the 14-year-old has been directed to a juvenile probation program because the fight was started at a school facility, police indicated.
Patterson High School Principal Dave Stubbs called the incident unfortunate but had no other details on the incident.
Attempts to reach Nick Marchy, the Patterson High head football coach, have been unsuccessful.
• The Auburn Journal contributed to this report. Tips can be sent any time to news@pattersonirrigator.com.
-Family
As for this situation, racism cuts deep. We can teach our kids what racism is but the real trick comes in teaching them how to deal with it when they are faced with it. Work in progress.
One rumour I heard was that our kids were disrespectful before the game to thier hosts. Even before the racial slur was sent in the direction of our kids, they had already worn out their welcome in Auburn.
Is anyone in charge of this team? They used to walk with their heads held high and with dignity and respect. Now our football team is just known for everything previous staffs tried to eliminate.
The team now has a very long road ahead of it if it wants to earn any respect. A program that had recently been built up has now been tarnished.
One would think that the coach would do everything he could to put a positive spin on this. I guess that isn't the case here.
I am very saddened about what has become of the representative of our community. The football program should be setting the example of Patterson. Instead, they are showing the surrounding communities everything that is wrong with Patterson.
I understand that a racial epithet was made to the Patterson team, but it is the men in the world that ignore them. The punks use it as an excuse to start a fight.
It was said after the Los Banos game that something needed to be done. Apparently, the football staff felt, and probably still feel, that the boys did nothing wrong.
Something needs to be done. What has become of the football program is no way, representative of Patterson.
But hey, men will be men, boys will be boys, and as we have seen from some of the kids, punks will be punks.
I heard from a friend in Auburn that one of our kids was swinging his helmet as a weapon. That was what harmed one of the injured. Way to represent Patterson there boys.