A high school junior has opted to transfer out of his New York prep school in the wake of a racist remark made by the school's assistant athletic director.
As reported by WPIX-TV, Tony Humphrey, a 16-year-old star baseball athlete at Iona Preparatory School, in New Rochelle, New York, was questioned by the AD over his decision to run track during the baseball off-season.
"He comes up to me and asked why I was doing track," Humphrey said. "He says, 'Well aren't you already fast as is? And I said, 'Yeah,'" the teenager recalled, "And then he tells me that I gained that speed by running from the police.
"That was racist," Humphrey continues. "There was no reason for him to say that."
Humphrey Transfers Out of Iona Prep
Humphrey told his mother about what had been said to him and he decided to transfer from the prestigious all-boys Catholic school to a public high school near his home.
"I decided to leave, because of my current situation, as I'm already going to [college]. I don't feel like I have to stay at a program where they're going to look at me different, or feel uncomfortable at a place I have to go to Monday through Friday."
This was not the first time that Humphrey has dealt with racism at the Prep school.
"There were other instances of racism during my freshman year," he noted. "I took it up with the dean, I took it up with the higher ups, and nothing happened to the other student."
Other Students Stage Walkout, AD Resigns
On Tuesday, Nov. 23, dozens of Iona Prep students staged a walkout in support of Humphrey, expressing their anger they felt over the AD's comments.
According to Euroweb, a letter was sent out to parents by school president, Brother Thomas R. Leto. He stated that the man's actions is "behavior that Iona Preparatory does not condone for its students and will accept from its faculty and staff."
Leto also noted that the AD had resigned from his position in the wake of the controversy.
