A Virginia high school track star has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after hitting an opposing runner over the head with a baton during a relay race captured on video.
Alaila Everett, a senior at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, told NBC affiliate WAVY that the incident in the viral video was an accident.
The sprinter who was struck by the baton, Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker, told NBC affiliate WSLS that she was diagnosed with a concussion and a possible fractured skull.
Everett has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, according to Bethan Harrison, the commonwealth’s attorney for Lynchburg.
How did the baton incident happen in the race?
The controversial moment occurred during the 4×200-meter relay final at the Virginia High School League Class 3 State Indoor Championships at Liberty University on March 4.
Everett and Tucker were rounding a curve of the track when they nearly collided as Tucker began to pass Everett into the same lane. Everett can be seen pumping her arms while holding the baton, which is followed by Tucker clutching her head and falling to the ground in pain.
“As I was coming up on her, (Everett) kind of like made me get cut off a little bit, so I backed away, and then as we got around the curve, she kept bumping me in my arm,” Tucker told WSLS. “And then finally when we got off the curve, I like slowly start passing her, and then that’s when she just hit me with the baton and I fell off the track.”
The I.C. Norcom team was disqualified from the race because of the incident.
“The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA. The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct,” VHSL director of communications Mike McCall said in a statement to NBC News. “We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.”
What was Alaila Everett’s reaction to the backlash?
A tearful Everett told WAVY that hitting Tucker with the baton was unintentional and came as a result of Tucker running so close to her.
“After a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this, and it rolled up her back,” Everett said. “I lost my balance and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit. She was cutting in when it happened, when she should’ve waited a little bit longer.”
“I know my intentions, and I would never hit someone on purpose,” she added.
“I didn’t have to see a first video, second video or tenth video. I know 100 percent that she would never do that to nobody,” Everett’s mother, Zeketa Cost, told WAVY.
Everett, who is Black, said she has endured a racial backlash since the clip went viral and that people are judging her “off of one angle” from the video.
“They are assuming my character, calling me ghetto and racial slurs, death threats… all of this off of a nine-second video,” she said.
The Portsmouth NAACP announced in a statement that it will continue to “review the circumstance” of the baton incident.
“First, we want to make it abundantly clear that we denounce any type of racial slur or threat in any form towards anyone involved in the situation,” the organization said in a statement.
The Portsmouth NAACP added that it believes involvement by the criminal justice system in this matter “is not warranted in this situation.”
“Alaina is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful,” the organization said. “She is an exceptional young leader and scholar whose athletic talent has been well-documented and recognized across our state. She has carried herself with integrity both on and off the field, and any narrative that adjudicates her guilty of any criminal activity is a violation of her due process rights.”
What has been the response of Kaelen Tucker and her family?
Tucker’s parents told WSLS they are looking for an apology from Everett and her track coach. They noted that the I.C. Norcom athletic director and Everett’s parents have apologized to them.
“They were watching the video at the event, but no one apologized or came to check on her,” Tucker’s mother, Tamarro Tucker, told WSLS. “Even if it was a fluke or freak accident, you still would check on her.”
Everett told WAVY that she tried to get in touch with Tucker, but Tucker blocked her on social media. Everett’s family said they were served with court papers because Tucker’s family wants a protective order against Everett.
Everett told WAVY she didn’t apologize to Tucker in person at the track meet because she was following the instructions of her track coach.
The incident is under investigation by the VHSL, according to a statement by Portsmouth Public Schools.
