WPIAL investigating allegations of racial slurs during Burrell-Mohawk football playoff game
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The WPIAL said it's investigating allegations of racist language used during a football playoff game between Mohawk and Burrell high schools last Friday.
Burrell coach Shawn Liotta said his players were the targets of racial slurs, which the Mohawk superintendent denies. Liotta said when he walked onto the field to confront officials, he was ejected with 11 seconds left in the first half of the game.
On Thursday, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League said the administrations of both schools are gathering information from the game and submitting it to the Equity Council for Diversity, Inclusion, & Cultural Competency, which will review the information and make a recommendation to the league's board of directors.
Liotta said several times during the first half of the Class 2A first-round playoff game, he and other coaches on his staff heard Mohawk players taunt some of his players with the N-word. He said some of his players came off the field in tears.
While some believe Liotta was upset because his team was trailing by 20 points at the time, he said it had nothing to do with the score and everything to do with protecting his kids.
On Monday, the WPIAL said Liotta was ejected from the game because he walked onto the field and used profanity when officials threw penalty flags. Several of his players also were ejected in the second half for unsportsmanlike conduct, which Liotta said was because Mohawk's actions riled them up.
In a statement, the Mohawk superintendent said the district takes allegations of racial slurs very seriously, but neither the officials' report nor its own report supports the allegations.
"The game itself was a hard-fought contest, with multiple personal fouls called on both teams and several instances of inappropriate fan behavior which were required to be addressed, but the District has not received any credible reports to corroborate the allegations of racial slurs and does not believe the conduct occurred based on its own internal investigation and the WPIAL officials' report," said Mohawk Area School District Superintendent Dr. Lorree Houk in a statement.
The WPIAL said results from the investigation and any further punishments will be announced once available.
