Coronado group: It's time to apologize to Escondido, heal rifts from tortilla incident - The San Diego Union-Tribune

cara-untuksehat.blogspot.com SAN DIEGO —

As Coronado school board officials appeal the sanctions levied against Coronado High’s basketball team following the tortilla incident last month, and various community members continue debating it, one group wants to shift the focus toward apologizing to the Escondido community.

Leaders with InclusioNado, a Coronado community organization, gathered outside the Coronado Unified School District headquarters Tuesday morning to hold a press conference and acknowledge the pain the June 19 incident caused Latino residents and others in Escondido.

Marley Ramirez, a member of the group, said it’s more important to acknowledge the pain the incident caused and to find ways to reconciliate with Escondido, than it is to focus on the “cause and intent” of the event.

“It’s painful to see organizations that are in favor of the Coronado basketball team and championship title instead of saying there was wrongdoing,” she said. “And there should be acknowledgment of that before reclaiming a title.”

Some community members have said the boys who threw tortillas at the mostly Latino Orange Glen basketball team did not think of it as a racist act. Others have said the subsequent firing of the basketball coach and later the California Interscholastic Federation’s decision to take away Coronado’s championship title were over reactions.

Issues surrounding the tortilla tossing have been polarizing in the city of Coronado, she said, with many not understanding the gravity of the insult or its significance to Latinos and other communities of color.

“While the debate goes on one thing is clear,” Ramirez said, “regardless of the intent, the event was an embarrassment to our community and hurtful to the Escondido community.”

InclusioNado members outside Coronado Unified District office acknowledge the pain caused by the tortilla tossing incident.

“InclusioNado believes it’s time to start the process of reconciliation between Coronado and Escondido by saying we are sorry,” she said, flanked by two members of the group.

InclusioNado was established last year, after a group of about 200 Coronado Unified students and community members marched against racism in its schools in June 2020.

Ramirez, a 10-year resident of Coronado and parent of a student in the district, is one of more than 200 members affiliated with the group. Most other members are parents of children attending Coronado Unified schools, she said.

Earlier this month the Coronado School Board voted unanimously to appeal the sanctions levied by the statewide CIF against Coronado High School’s basketball team. In addition to revoking the school’s championship title, the CIF placed the team on probation and required Coronado High administrators, athletic directors and coaches to take racial and cultural sensitivity training.

The school district issued an apology last month, acknowledging that the acts were “egregious, demeaning and disrespectful,” in a letter addressed to Orange Glen. Coronado School District Superintendent Karl Mueller also apologized to Orange Glen and called the incident “reprehensible.”

The man who brought the tortillas to the game, Luke Serna, also apologized in June, saying he realized afterword that throwing the tortillas was perceived as racially insensitive.

However, others have publicly criticized Mueller and the school district for the apologies, saying that has harmed Coronado High and its basketball team.

Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and Coronado School Board member Stacy Keszei said the school board had rushed to judgment before an investigation was completed. Keszei requested her name be removed from the board’s written apology.

InclusioNado leaders said they want to build a bridge of communication and respect between Coronado and Escondido. They plan to visit some of the students present at the game but have not been in contact with any of the Escondido families yet, said Ramirez.

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