Why did the superintendent and athletic director of a Philadelphia-area school district suddenly resign at the end of August? It might be because they'd been caught sending incredibly offensive text messages to each other. Late last week, the Daily Local News in West Chester published a leaked transcript of messages sent between former Coatesville Area Superintendent Richard Como and athletics director Jim Donato. Here's a rundown:
- In one exchange, they joke that black people "should just have whatever first names they want...then last name is N----R! Leroy N----r, Preacher N----r, Night train N----r … could have whole homerooms of N----r!"
- In another exchange, after hearing that someone is having sex with a red-haired "campus jew," one of the men writes, "No way! Please tell me no f--king way that ape banged that white piece? ... Me no understand!"
- "F--king camel jockey gets me a white girly phone that doesn't work??! Gaza strip has better connections during suicide bombers!"
- The texts were allegedly sent to and from school-issued phones in June. A district employee discovered them while transferring data from one to the other, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Perhaps most damningly,
Daily News sources say the school board learned about the messages quickly, but decided to let the pair keep their jobs—until the police got involved. A criminal investigation is now under way, police have confirmed. The board is expected to formally accept both men's resignations tomorrow. Parents and teachers in the racially diverse district are shocked. "It's 2013. Who talks like that?" one parent asked
Fox 29. (More
racism stories.)