A “Zero Tolerance Discrimination Policy”???

  I’ve been in consultation with Lance Eaglestaff.  His son is now a star Division I Basketball player at UND, but last year he was taunted with racist chants, monkey sounds, and war whoops every time he touched the ball while playing against Jamestown.  It happened all the time, but that time just happened to be all game long and on video for all to hear.  No one wanted to help him get answers why NDHSAA condoned it either.  The NDHSAA wouldn’t respond to him or his attorney.  It took him ultimately filing a federal complaint against them to get them to respond and enact some institutional reforms.  The NDHSAA, serving a state with one of the largest native populations in the USA, put a Native American on their board for the first time EVER.  They also supposedly instituted a “Zero Tolerance Discrimination Policy.”  Lance was not surprised to hear that they have no will to now enforce that policy.  In fact, we were relayed the message  “discrimination is not a hardship.”  That is not “zero tolerance,” it’s you’re “not allowed to talk about it.”  The NDHSAA has gone rogue. 

     Lance had confirmed my suspicion that the NDHSAA Constitution has in fact not been updated since 1953!  Imagine the state our country would be in if nothing had been done to address the needs of civil rights since 1953!  There is absolutely no process to address discrimination or anything that might make people feel uncomfortable.  There is a “zero tolerance” discrimination policy in word, but not in practice.  I knew this situation was bigger than just James’s experience, but I had no idea just how backwards the entire NDHSAA chooses to remain.  Thankfully, Mr. Eaglestaff was very helpful and gave me a lot of great leads and contacts.  We’re going to get answers.