Lowell High School in California fired its entire baseball team coaching staff after a racial incident. The team must forfeit key games next season.
Lowell’s varsity baseball team advanced to the CIF Northern California playoffs in June after defeating Lincoln High School in the San Francisco Section/Academic Athletic Association championship at Oracle Park.
The team then lost in the first round of the playoffs in June to Central Valley’s Immanuel High School. Shortly after that defeat, the school suspended the team’s three coaches after parents and school officials heard reports of a racial incident.
On Monday, school district officials announced that after an investigation, they will force Lowell High School’s championship varsity baseball team to forfeit three future games against city rivals.
“The school will find an interim coach for this season and conduct a search for a permanent coach for next season,” officials told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Sources in the Lowell community told the Chronicle in May that the investigation appeared to be related to alleged racial taunting by Lowell’s varsity players during a junior varsity game against Lincoln High, where the varsity coaches were present, though officials did not provide specific details.
The school district chose the forfeited games based on the standings
The San Francisco division of the California Interscholastic Federation also found that Lowell varsity baseball violated regulations on unsportsmanlike conduct. As a result, Lowell will forfeit games against Lincoln, Galileo, and Washington high schools next season.
“The forfeited games were chosen based on the standings last season and the impact it will have on standings in the 2026-2027 season,” said section commissioner Gail Barksdale in an letter to Lowell administrators and athletic staff.
It was unknown whether any Lowell players faced disciplinary action. In a statement to the Chronicle, school district officials said “accountability” is part of the support system offered to the team’s student-athletes, but privacy regulations prevented them from disclosing more details about the incident or any individuals involved.
Lowell High School is no stranger to racial controversies
Interestingly, in July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that an advocacy group at Lowell High School sued the San Francisco Unified School District over its adoption of a new ethnic studies curriculum. Also, The San Francisco Standard reported in August that a former math teacher at Lowell High who quit in March due to backlash over his behavior in the classroom was back teaching at a private school created by another teacher, whom the San Francisco branch of the NAACP voted unanimously, 105-0, to demand her resignation.