IRVINE, Calif. (KNX) — A Black Portola High School student athlete who was the target of racial slurs during a recent basketball game was surprised with thousands in scholarship funds from an Orange County businessman.
During the Jan. 21 matchup against Laguna Hills High, a Laguna Hills student in the stands was caught on video taunting Makai Brown, hurling racial epithets at the teen as Makai was shooting free throws.
The student made statements including, "Who let him out of his cage? He's a monkey!" and "Where is his slave owner? Chain him up! Who let him off the chains?"
Now, JJ Jones, a businessman and mentor in Orange County, is stepping in to offer Makai support after hearing about the incident, according to ABC Los Angeles.
"I couldn't allow that to be Makai's last basketball experience so I called in my super friends to change the narrative," Jones told the news outlet.
Jones awarded Makai a $20,000 scholarship toward his academic career and an opportunity to work as an intern with a sports agent along with one-on-one basketball training, according to ABC.
"The language and connotations expressed by the words used do not represent the culture, attitudes, or feelings of the students and staff of LHHS, nor those of Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD)," said SVUSD in a statement.
The student who allegedly made the comments has not been publicly identified, but has been disciplined to an unknown degree by Laguna Hills High School.
In a statement, state Sen. Dave Min of Irvine said: "This incident was by no means unique. Whether it's racist comments at Board of Supervisor meetings or Nazi banners hung from our highway overpasses or a Ku Klux Klan rally, hate is on the rise, and it's unfortunately unfolding in schools across Orange County."
Irvine’s Mayor Farrah Khan also spoke out against the racist incident, according to ABC. She said in a statement: "This is not a one-time incident -- I have received numerous complaints from families and Irvine coaches about Saddleback sports' culture…I am asking SVUSD to conduct an investigation into the coach and other staff regarding their involvement in incidents like this and bring forward appropriate actions taken.”
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