Six months after North Side High School cheerleaders reported hearing racist remarks during a football game at Arlington Heights High School, they said their pain has been ignored and their demands unmet.
During a Fort Worth ISD school board meeting March 25, Superintendent Karen Molinar acknowledged that district staff failed to validate the students’ experiences when it mattered most.
Trustee Camille Rodriguez read a statement from the cheerleaders, who said they still feel “disrespected, disappointed, embarrassed (and) unsettled,” — sentiments they said had not gone away since the Sept. 13, 2024, incident.
“For us, there is no closure, nothing has been fixed, no one has been held accountable and we still don’t feel heard,” the statement read.
Fort Worth ISD’s internal investigation, summarized in a seven-page executive report obtained by the Fort Worth Report through a public records request, concluded it was “more likely than not” that racial slurs were used by students from the Arlington Heights cheering section.
But the district found insufficient evidence to identify which students made the remarks.
The investigation included interviews with 54 people — cheerleaders, students, coaches and staff — and reviewed statements, photos, emails and social media content. Six of nine North Side cheerleaders interviewed by the district said they heard slurs when they crossed the field to deliver a spirit gift to Arlington Heights cheerleaders during the third quarter.
The report noted conflicting accounts.
No students or staff from Arlington Heights acknowledged hearing or making the remarks. Some staff and cheerleaders in the Arlington Heights student section recalled booing and a downward hand gesture mocking North Side’s mascot, a steer, but said those actions stopped after adults intervened.
Despite the inconclusive findings, the report recommended several steps the district should adopt across all campuses, including stationing administrators in or near student sections at games, displaying staff identification badges and reinforcing sportsmanship expectations with students before each event.
Following the internal investigation, Fort Worth ISD launched a third-party review of the incident in October.
The cheerleaders, however, said Fort Worth ISD has not done enough.
In their statement, they asked for a written apology from all staff who were present that night and for the filing of 22 individual complaints of racism, sexism and bullying — one for each team member.
They also called for clearer, enforceable policies for reporting discrimination.
“Racism is never something anyone should simply get used to or move away from,” the statement said. “It is hurtful, unacceptable and does not belong in any community.”
Molinar apologized publicly during the board meeting. The incident occurred under former Superintendent Angélica Ramsey’s tenure — just 11 days before she resigned.
“We should have come forward and just acknowledged what happened that evening to them,” Molinar said. “They were told on social media they were lying … and that’s a lot for our high school females to go through.”
While district leaders said they remain committed to promoting diversity, North Side’s cheerleaders said they’ll keep speaking out until they see change.
“We won’t let anyone diminish our voices,” they wrote. “We deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.