The offended opposing coach is against competition. Update to this story.
The Jordan boys basketball has cancelled its game Monday at Minneapolis Roosevelt High School, where it was scheduled to play Minneapolis Patrick Henry at an invitational Martin Luther King Showcase tourney at 5:15 p.m.
The game would have been held at the school the Hubmen played on Tuesday, when their fans sparked a controversy by wearing patriotic colors and holding up a Donald Trump re-election sign during the game. The coach of the Minneapolis team later questioned their intention in a Facebook post.
That led some to wonder what would transpire on Monday, when the Jordan Hubmen were scheduled to play at Roosevelt in a tourney. Now, they won’t be playing.
Jordan Superintendent Matt Helgerson released a statement Sunday saying after discussion with Minneapolis Public Schools and the MLK showcase event coordinator, a decision was made to pull out of the game on Monday.
“We do not want our presence at the event to detract from the athletes,” he said. “We will continue to work with the Minneapolis School District to work cooperatively to move forward in a positive direction.”
Henry coach Jamil Jackson told the Star Tribune tourney organizers were told Jordan would not be coming out of “fear of something happening to the players if they came to Roosevelt to play,” which he called “totally unjustifiable.”
But Helgerson disputed that, saying it’s a wonderful event that showcases the skills of athletes from across the state, but “Given recent events, we believe the participation of our team in the tournament will detract from the hard work of the athletes and the upbeat focus of the MLK Showcase.”
Minneapolis Roosevelt High School coach Michael Walker posted a photo of the fans holding the sign — which said “Trump 2020 — Keep America Great! — on his Facebook page, questioning the message fans were sending.
Walker, who is head of Minneapolis Public Schools’ Office of Black Male Student Achievement, wrote on Facebook, “I coach a predominantly black inner city high school team. We go out to a rural area in Jordan, MN and this is there. Please explain how and why this is appropriate at a high school basketball game?” He included hashtags such as #criticalquestioning, #blackandproud and #representationmatters.
Many of the Jordan fans surrounding the sign were wearing patriotic clothing — red, white and blue and stars and stripes. However, the Jordan student section often has a theme for student dress at games, and has had patriotic themes in the past. Jordan Independent Sports Editor Todd Abeln said he’s never seen the students hold up a pro-Trump sign before, however.