Pinole baseball coach reinstated after racist-chants probe
Suspended Pinole baseball coach back with team after racist chants controversy
TWon Blake was reinstated as baseball coach at Pinole Valley High School after West Contra Costa Unified School District officials confirmed he had followed proper protocols after racist chants were directed at Albany High players during a game. But Blake says his reputation suffered after he was placed on suspension.
Pinole - The baseball coach at Pinole Valley High School was reinstated on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after he was suspended during an investigation into racist-chants at a game.
In video taken at the April 23 game against Albany High, someone can be heard yelling "Baljheet! Baljheet!" as an Albany pitcher of Indian American descent is on the mound.
At another point, someone asks "P.F. Chang, is that you?" when an Asian player is pitching, in reference to the China Bistro restaurant chain.
"The P.F. Chang comment and that, came directly from the stands. It was nobody in our dugout," Pinole Valley High coach T'Won Blake told KTVU on Tuesday, hours before his suspension was lifted.
"Me being suspended was uncalled for," he said.
Coach says he was scapegoat
What they're saying:
Blake said he was made a scapegoat for inappropriate chants coming from the crowd during the game. He says he never heard any slurs at the time.
"No, I really don't think our players were guilty of any racist comments. And, to say this: our team is multicultural. We have Asian players on our team as well," Blake said.
Hours later, West Contra Costa Unified School District officials said they were reinstating Blake and an assistant coach, just in time for playoffs this week. But Blake said he's upset at the fallout over his suspension.
"To take it away from me, it hurts. But even to take away my character and my reputation along with that, it's just damning. I've received death threats, my kids, getting pressured about Asian hate at school," Blake said.
He said Albany High spectators did bring up unrelated issues with the umpire, but that racist chants weren't among them.
"For you to act and to do something, yes, I'm responsible for my team and my fans," he said. "But if I never know they're doing anything, how can U control something that I don't know what happened?"
Civil rights attorney Adante Pointer said Blake was wrongly benched.
"We have a man whose reputation has been besmirched, who has been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion on faulty information," Pointer said.
Eugene Lee, a father of one of the Albany pitchers, said his beef was never with the coach.
"I am a supporter of Coach Blake. I never targeted him. I never said the coach should be fired. I want collective accountability," Lee said.
District's response
Big picture view:
The district says it hasn't confirmed that the offensive chants came from the stands.
In a statement, the district said in part, "Regardless of who was involved, the district is clear in its position: discriminatory language and behavior have no place in our schools or athletic events. We are reinforcing this message across all school sites and reiterating our expectations to student-athletes, staff, families, and spectators."
Henry Lee is a KTVU reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: KTVU reporting
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