The first incident was reported on Friday during a varsity football game. Homewood-Flossmoor High School administrators say they are considering legal options against some students from Lincoln-Way East.
On Tuesday, Homewood-Flossmoor High School said there was a second incident with the Lincoln-Way East Girl's Cross Country Team at an invitational in Lyons Township.
H-F athletes reported that some of the team and some of the coaches began cheering and making "noises that were racist."
When Homewood-Flossmoor HS reached out to Lincoln-Way East regarding the incident, they were told it was a misunderstanding.
Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 said the statement was released before Lincoln-Way's administration could complete its investigation.
"Lincoln-Way's administration learned that, prior to the meet on Saturday morning, Lincoln-Way East coaches merely recounted a well-known story about an area of the Lyons Township course referred to as "the jungle," a spokesperson for Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 said. "This area is labeled as such on publicly available maps of the course. According to the coaching staff and student-athletes, at the time of the meet Saturday morning, they were not even aware of the events that took place on Friday."
Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 said that Lyons Township meet officials said they received no complaint regarding any racial allegations.
The spokesperson for Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 added: "After concluding its investigation into the cross-country meet allegations, the Lincoln-Way administration is confident that neither its staff nor student athletes intended to harass, intimidate or offend any of their competitors or those competitors' families. Nevertheless, the entire Lincoln-Way school community recognizes the impact and sensitivity of the matter, particularly after the egregious and intolerable behavior displayed by certain Lincoln-Way East students during Friday's football game."
The Illinois High School Association said in a statement, "The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) received a report this morning (September 8) from Homewood-Flossmoor High School, detailing that their student-athletes had been subjected to unacceptable words and actions by athletes and coaches from another IHSA member high school at a cross country meet on September 5. High school sports are an extension of the classroom and every high school student-athlete in Illinois should be provided the opportunity to compete in a safe space. Demeaning words and actions cannot and will not be tolerated. Under the auspices of the IHSA's Hate Speech & Harassment Policy, this report triggers an investigation by the IHSA. The investigation process is now underway, and we will work tirelessly to achieve a resolution that reflects the serious nature of this situation."
The video in the player above is from previous reporting.