FARMINGTON, Mich. – A private Instagram chat between players on the Farmington High School baseball team has become a public mess for the students involved.
One of the players in the private Instagram chat let school administration see the racist messages on Monday.
The boys on the baseball team have their own Instagram page that's private, and the chat they were having was also private until one of the players decided it needed to be exposed.
The chat started with a picture of boxer shorts with watermelons on them, and the player who posted it said, "I'll get all the black chicks." It gets worse from there.
"As a black girl, you're raised to be preparing for this kind of thing, but when you hear about it from people you know and it's considered normal locker room talk, it's really disheartening," Katlyn Sartor said.
Some of the players on the team went on to call black girls ugly, inferior and annoying. Not all the boys agreed with the comments.
Then there was a discussion of what is and isn't racist.
"Today, after this all went down, one of my friends went and said to one of the kids, 'Hey, what's up with the baseball group chat?'" Diana Palusha said. "He's like, 'I don't know.' He kept his face down. His face was all red. They know what they did was wrong."
The screen captures of the private Instagram chat are all over the school.
"I think it's one thing to think it and say it with your inner circle, but to type it on social media knowing that it can be screenshot and put out there and have no fear about it, I think it's amazing," Pierce Hare said.
Farmington Public Schools released the following statement:
"Administrators were made aware this morning of some inappropriate comments posted by students on social media and immediately took action to investigate the situation. Once the investigation is completed, administrators will make any necessary decisions regarding discipline. It is important to note that this does not represent the sentiment or overall character of our students.
"We will be using this as a teachable moment with students to help them grow and be prepared on how to handle these types of situations in the future."