Draft:Masterman High School Soccer: 2022 Racism Incident

The Racism Incident in the 2022 2A PIAA Soccer Championships refers to an incident during a high school soccer match between the Masterman High School's Boys Soccer team and the Northwestern Lehigh High School's Boys Soccer team on November 8th, 2022, in New Tripoli, PA. The incident garnered attention due to allegations of racial harassment directed at Masterman's players by spectators from Northwestern Lehigh.

Background
The Julia R. Masterman School, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has a racially diverse student population compared to Northwestern Lehigh High School. The match in question took place during the first round of the 2022 2A PIAA Soccer Championships, adding pressure and significance to the competition.

Demographics
Masterman has a significantly higher minority demographic than Northwestern Lehigh High School.

Masterman has a Minority Enrollment of 59.1%, while Northwestern Lehigh High School's Minority Enrollment is at a much lower 11.9%.

Incident
Throughout the game, spectators from Northwestern Lehigh hurled racial slurs at Masterman's players, with most specifically targeting towards Masterman's freshman goalkeeper (at that time), Nery Tlapaya. Despite attempts by Masterman's coach, Tyler Weiss, and parents to address the harassment, it persisted unabated.

Masterman parents approached Northwestern Lehigh’s spectators, but they failed to admit their racism. The referees and Northwestern Lehigh's Athletic Director also failed to address the situation.

The racist comments continued, even after the game finished.

Investigation
Following the incident, Weiss underwent an investigation by the School District of Philadelphia, which extended into the following year. The investigation's handling by both the School District and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) faced criticism for perceived lack of accountability and disproportionate punishment.

The following spring, Dr. James Lynch, told Weiss the case was still under investigation.

Consequences
An incident report was filled out with Masterman's administration following the incident.

Weiss, concerned about the situation, repeatedly brought the issue to the attention of referees and Northwestern Lehigh's athletic director. However, the response was dismissive, with Weiss eventually facing consequences himself. At the beginning of preseason, Weiss began running practices as usual, but later on he was informed that he would not be able to serve as Masterman's coach.

This negatively impacted team morale and performance. There was a loophole found which would let Weiss serve as a volunteer, but still being able to coach the team.

However, the School District of Philadelphia discovered this and informed that Weiss would not be able to be on the bench during matches.

After the news, assistant superintendent, Richard Gordon, was contacted. Gordon ruled that Weiss could rejoin the team. After this, team morale and performance significantly increased. During this time, Weiss had been under investigation for 11 months, and had never received any documents pertaining to the investigation.

Broader Context
The Masterman incident is emblematic of a larger issue within the PIAA, where racially diverse schools often face discrimination during competitions against less diverse opponents. Similar incidents in other schools, such as Southern Columbia and Cheltenham, highlight the PIAA's failure to effectively address racism in high school sports.

== Call for Change == Parents, players, and advocates have called for systemic improvements within the PIAA and the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee (PAOC) to ensure a safer and more inclusive environment for student athletes statewide. The Masterman Soccer Racism Incident highlights the ongoing challenges faced by racially diverse schools in Pennsylvania and serves as a catalyst for broader discussions on racism in high school sports and the responsibilities of athletic governing bodies.