A Virginia high school track runner was hit in the back of the head with a baton by an opponent during a state title championship race last week.
The incident took place when Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker was competing in the 4×200-metre relay at a track meet held at Liberty University on March 4.
A video of the incident shared on Facebook shows Tucker grabbing a metal baton from her teammate and taking off. As she begins to overtake another runner, Alaila Everett of IC Norcom High School appears to raise her own baton and hit Tucker across the head with it, the video shows.
Tucker was assessed by a doctor and was told that she had a concussion and a possible skull fracture, according to local news outlet WSLS 10.
“When you get on the other side of the track, you have to cross into lane one, you have to merge in,” Tucker told the outlet. “As I was coming up on her, she kind of made me get cut off a little bit. I backed away and then as we got around the curve, she kept bumping me in my arm.
“When we got off the curve, I slowly started passing her and then that’s when she just hit me with a baton and I fell off the track.”
Tucker’s mother ran down to the track after she witnessed her daughter stumble off the track and fall down, grabbing her head. Tucker’s team trainers quickly came to her aid.
“The whole section just gasped,” Tucker’s mother, Tamarrow, said. “We had family come from out of town, her godparents were here from Myrtle Beach. Everybody just gasped. When I saw her go down, all I could do is run out of the bleachers. I just knew I had to get to her.
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“She was kind of hysterical because she just couldn’t believe that’s what had happened.”
Tucker’s opponent’s team from I.C. Norcom High School was immediately disqualified for “contact interference,” reported local news outlet WSET ABC 13.
Tucker’s family said that they were confused by the lack of accountability for what occurred during the race.
“My whole thing was no apology,” Tamarrow said. “No coaches, no athlete, no anything. Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe it’s an accident, but nothing. It’s been more than 24 hours now, so I guess that was the major thing. My child was hurt and nobody came to check on her.”
When asked if they plan to press criminal charges, Tamarrow said, “Of course, everybody gives their opinion on what they think you should do, but that’s also somebody else’s child. I want to take that into account as well. Yes, she definitely struck my daughter more than once, but she is somebody else’s child as well.”
The Tucker family also reached out to the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and said they were told there was an investigation underway and both high schools were co-operating.
VHSL also issued a statement in regard to the incident.
“The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA,” the league’s statement read. “The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct. We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.”
Tucker’s opponent, Everett, spoke out following the incident, telling outlet WAVY TV 10 that she didn’t mean to hit Tucker and struck her accidentally due to losing her balance.
“I can admit from the video that it does look purposeful, but I know my intention is that I would never hit somebody on purpose,” she told the outlet.
Everett claims that people are judging the incident “off one angle” of the video.
“After a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this,” Everett said, making an upwards gesture. “And it rolled up her back. I lost my balance and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit.”
Everett revealed that she’s received a lot of hate from others on social media since the video of the incident spread online.
“I’ve never been in a fight, I’ve always been on honour roll, I never get calls home. So just people making, off a nine-second video, they’re assuming my character. Calling me ‘ghetto,’ racist slurs, death threats, all of this because of a nine-second video,” she said.
Everett also explained that she did not try to check in on Tucker after the race because people were tending to her already.
“I went to my coach and he said he was handling it,” she added.
Everett said that she’s tried to get in contact with Tucker but claims she has been blocked by her on all social media. Everett’s family also told WAVY TV 10 that they were served with court papers because the Tuckers want a protective order.
“It doesn’t seem right that this would happen and now we have to go to a city three hours away that everyone hates our guts already,” Everett’s father, Genoa, told the outlet.
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