There's a weird tolerated racism in high school sports in certain regions of the country. ESPN had an article, back when the magazine was good, about some schools in Indiana where the demographics made them almost all white or all black. And these schools got along just fine, kids were friends, etc. Then basketball season started, everybody segregated up, the team buses needed security escorts, parents would scream just unbelievable shit at the kids. And the kids would be summer teammates/friends of their own kids. Or they'd wind up on the same college team and all would be forgotten.
IIRC, Jason Williams and Randy Moss went to a consolidated school that initially had a similar situation when they were separate. So I have to imagine this is pretty normal in that whole basketball mad region.
Not to be excusing it or anything, just that reading that link reminded me of the story and how it'd just be a switch that went off for the season in these communities. And they just sorta, ignored it, otherwise.
Also iirc, in the ESPN story, the whites were more often doing the traditional racial slurs, harassing the buses, then disappearing type racism. With the players doing all the little in game slights/hits/trips/etc. possible. And the black kids were more likely to be the ones actually starting fights with the opposing players when provoked. (WHICH PROVED THEY WERE THUGS!)
