By Ray Hamill — The Ferndale Unified School District has issued a statement through The Ferndale Enterprise in response to Thursday’s controversy at a girls basketball game at Ferndale High.

A section of the Wildcat fanbase, including some members of the varsity boys team, was accused of making derogatory and possible racist remarks to some of the Hoopa players.

FUSD Superintendent and Ferndale High principal Beth Anderson said in the statement that “racism is unacceptable by anyone, anywhere, anytime. The students who acted inappropriately Thursday evening are embarrassed and apologetic, as they should be. They’ve been disciplined. What I’m hoping we can do now is use this opportunity to teach all students how to recognize and respond to racism to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.”

Anderson went on to say that she had contacted Hoopa Valley assistant principal and Athletic Director Craig Cornelson to take precautions to safeguard the Ferndale players for a Friday night boys game in Hoopa Valley, and did not believe the students were at risk.

But they were forced to forfeit the game when many of the varsity players’ parents did not want them to travel.

The JV game went ahead as scheduled without incident, and the players were praised for the respect shown before and during the game.

The statement went on to read that “Anderson and KTJUSD Superintendent John Ray are planning activities to improve relations between the two schools, and they are working with elected officials to build bridges in the broader communities. County Supervisor Rex Bohan has reached out to tribal leaders to seek their recommendations and hopes they can all work together to make things better.”

For the complete statement, see Ferndale Enterprise …