In discussion to address racism at high school events, Fargo legislator uses slur

May 2—ST. MICHAEL, N.D. — Federal privacy laws prevent North Dakota school districts from shining a light on how they handle racism at sporting and other events, a state high school activities official told an interim legislative committee this week.

The comment came during a meeting of the Tribal and State Relations Committee, during which two Native American legislators said there is a lack of consequences for such acts.

Another lawmaker, Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, surprised some in attendance by uttering a racial slur during the meeting, which he later said was done to drive home a point.

The committee met Wednesday, May 1, in St. Michael on the Spirit Lake Reservation south of Devils Lake.

The gathering was timely given an incident in late April at the Flasher High School prom, where a DJ played powwow music, prompting some students to dance in a manner seen as mocking traditional Native dances.

A month earlier, student fans from Minot Public Schools made racially insensitive remarks to players on the Bismarck High School boys basketball team.

A similar incident occurred in January 2023, when some student fans from Jamestown High School

made monkey noises directed at Andre Austin, a Black and Standing Rock Sioux player for Bismarck,

who was at the free-throw line.

In all three instances, administrators apologized for the students' behavior.

Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, who led the committee presentation, said apologies are no longer enough.

"We demand tangible action to address systemic racism and ensure a safe, respectful environment for all North Dakotans," she said.

Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, D-Mandaree, spoke about a girls basketball game between Mandaree and Wilton where complaints about taunting were brought to an administrator, but the taunts continued.

Finley-DeVille said she filed a complaint about it with the North Dakota High School Activities Association but did not receive a response.

As a result, she also filed a complaint with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, she said.

Brian Bubach, associate director of NDHSAA, said school administrators often take action, but any student discipline handed out is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

"We see in the court of public opinion where we'd like to see the consequences be made public. They are not because it is illegal for administrators to do that," he said.

Bubach outlined steps NDHSAA has taken in the past year, including establishing a sportsmanship and citizenship committee, producing a video outlining fan behavior expectations shown before sporting events and providing grants to schools that hold preseason meetings with parents outlining those expectations.

Also, in a first for NDHSAA, the organization recently elected to the board of directors a school administrator who's an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe or who leads a school with at least 50% Native students.

Wayne Fox, superintendent of the White Shield School District, begins his term on July 1.

Mathern wondered whether administrators, coaches or tournament managers could be held accountable for not taking action at the time of an infraction.

Bubach said member schools have not authorized the NDHSAA to evaluate how administrators and others respond to those situations.

Barriers to that would include school districts preferring to have local control in those matters, and again, the federal privacy law, he said.

Mathern suggested adults in charge should handle racist slurs the same way they handle an act of physical aggression.

"They do things like kick them out of the game. Why don't they do things then when somebody is taunting somebody?" he said, stating a derogatory slur as an example.

Soon after, Rep. Zachary Ista, D-Grand Forks, and chair of the committee, seemed to address Mathern's comment.

"I should note that we as committee members should be sensitive to the language we use in our meetings, as well," Ista said.

Asked for a reaction to Mathern's use of a racial slur during the public meeting, Davis said, "It is wrong, period."

Using the slur "in any context is not only inappropriate but also deeply offensive and hurtful. Which is what I know many of us felt in that room and what the students-athletes feel when they are subjected to" slurs and taunting, she said in a statement.

Davis said she missed Mathern after the meeting, so has since texted him.

Asked by The Forum why he chose to use the slur, Mathern said he was trying to show that people don't fully appreciate the pain of a young person hearing a slur.

"If we really think it's that bad that we don't say the word, and I think it is that bad, then we should be taking actions that are quite specific and direct and clear for the world to see," he said.

Mathern said committee members approached him afterward expressing surprise about him using the word. He said some told him they appreciated the point he was trying to make by doing so.

Ista suggested a different way to shed more light on disciplinary matters in these cases: He asked whether such data could be compiled and stripped of identifying information, then released to the public.

"The lack of public accountability is something like a lack of deterrence to students across the state. They didn't see anything is happening, so the assumption is nothing is happening," he said.

Mathern requested the NDHSAA executive director and a Department of Public Instruction representative be present at the committee's next meeting to provide recommendations on how to handle adults who do not handle racist slurs and taunts the way they should.