Grayslake Central, Grant High officials investigating allegations of verbal abuse at wrestling meet
Administrators with two Lake County school districts are investigating what led to spectators at a Thursday evening wrestling meet being ejected - and if racial slurs were yelled.
The competition pitted Grant High School of Fox Lake against host Grayslake Central. Grant won, but not before emotions got hot and people were escorted out of the gym.
"We're trying to get an understanding of what actually happened," Grayslake High School District 127 Superintendent Mikkel Storaasli said. "We take this very seriously."
Grant Principal Jeremy Schmidt said his staff is investigating, too. Unsportsmanlike behavior at athletic events "is not something that we condone," he said.
The meet began about 5:30 p.m. in Grayslake Central's field house. As it progressed, some supporters reportedly became belligerent.
The instigator may have been a Grayslake fan who pestered Grant supporters while standing near the Grant team's bench, Schmidt said.
At least one Grayslake booster may have used racial epithets in their taunts, administrators said.
Eventually, spectators supporting both schools were ejected from the gymnasium, Storaasli said.
The hostility escalated in a hallway outside the gym and in the parking lot, Storaasli said, but it didn't become physical and police weren't called.
A Thursday-night post on the Grant High wrestling team's X account mentioned the meet but not the disturbance.
On his X page, Grayslake Central coach Matt Joseph noted the meet "started out as a great environment" but didn't elaborate.
Storaasli said he first heard about the situation via email Thursday night. District 127's investigation began the next morning, he said.
"That's not the experience we want anybody to have when they walk into our halls," Storaasli said.
Grayslake District 127 officials were speaking with school security personnel Friday morning and reviewing security camera footage, he said.
Grant Community High School District 124 Superintendent Christy Sefcik called the disturbance "an unfortunate incident."
Schmidt said Grant High officials are seeking statements from the coaches who were at the meet.