Mesa Ridge football players allegedly face hateful messages ahead of playoffs

(COLORADO) – The Mesa Ridge High School football team, which competed in the Class 4A playoffs at Montrose High School over the weekend, allegedly went into the visitor’s locker room and found inappropriate and hateful language in the dust before the game continued Saturday, April 23 .November.

According to the Montrose County School District (MCSD), the district conducted an investigation and reviewed 24 hours of surveillance footage covering locker room entrances. It was confirmed that the only people entering or leaving the area during this time were Mesa Ridge players. Montrose High School staff and athletic director. No Montrose High School football players were seen in the area.

“Despite the seriousness of these allegations, we find the timing and handling of the matter
concerning,” MCSD wrote. “Mesa Ridge had several opportunities to report this issue to Montrose staff, coaches or the athletic director before, during and immediately after the game. However, no such report has been prepared.”

MCSD said Mesa Ridge notified Montrose High School staff hours after they left Montrose and, according to the district, “this approach raises questions about the intent and motivation behind the allegations.”

MCSD has also expanded the investigation to the Montrose Police Department and said they will work with law enforcement to determine who is responsible for writing the hate speech in the locker room.

“While we do not speculate on the source of the hateful language found in the locker room,
The surveillance evidence and circumstances surrounding this claim cast significant doubt on it
this was directed at Mesa Ridge in some way,” MCSD wrote.

FOX21 News reached out to a spokesperson for Widefield School District 3 (WSD3), who released a statement regarding the incident and said the district is saddened by the impact the unnecessary situation has had on players, coaches and the school community.

“Our players and coaching staff have worked very hard to get to this point in the season and they certainly deserve a learning and competitive environment without hate,” said WSD3 Communications Director Sam Briggs. “We are very proud of our Mesa Ridge Grizzly football team and stand behind them. We will continue to support Mesa Ridge High School as it responds to this incident.”

The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) also released a statement about the incident on its website, which read in part:

“The Colorado High School Activities Association strongly condemns racism, discrimination and hatred in any form,” CHSAA said. “We understand that part of our responsibility as adult caregivers of a younger generation is to provide modeling and education where it is needed most. It is important to us to support our schools in addressing unacceptable depictions such as this.”

FOX21 News will continue to monitor this development and will update this article as we learn more.