*A San Diego-area school district voted Tuesday night to fire a head basketball coach after tortillas were hurled at a team from a mostly Latino high school.
The incident occurred after a championship game between Orange Glen and Coronado on Saturday. Coronado won 60-57 in overtime on its home floor. Following the game, Orange Glen head coach Chris Featherly said Coronado head coach JD Laaperi made disrespectful remarks toward him and his players, leading to a confrontation in which tortillas were hurled at Orange Glen players, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Video shared on social media shows that tortillas were thrown toward the Orange Glen players by at least two athletes from Coronado, a predominantly white school.
The Coronado Unified School Board voted 5-0 to release JD Laaperi of Coronado High School, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Coronado Unified School District Superintendent Karl Mueller issued a public message of apology Sunday that called the act “reprehensible.”
In a tweet Saturday, Laaperi said a community member brought tortillas to the game and said the incident was “unacceptable and racist in nature.”
“I do not condone this behavior. Coronado High School does not condone this behavior and is already taking appropriate action,” he tweeted.
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