LWE Girls' Cross Country Coach, Team Accused Of Racist Taunts Toward H-F Runners: School

FLOSSMOOR, IL — The Homewood-Flossmoor High School administration on Tuesday said the school's girls' cross-country team encountered more racist taunts from another Lincoln-Way East High School team, just a day after a similar incident at a football game.

The incident on Saturday—the day after Lincoln-Way East fans mimicked monkeys in taunts directed at Homewood-Flossmoor fans during the teams' varsity football game—involved the schools' girls cross-country teams, Homewood-Flossmoor administration said. The teams had been competing at an invitational that day.

"Three HF athletes shared a description of one of the LWE coaches making comments about running 'past those monkeys' to the LWE team in the starting box directly adjacent," the school said. "The athletes then reported that some of the team began cheering and making 'noises that were racist' and 'monkey gestures.'"

Homewood-Flossmoor High School leadership on Monday evening contacted Lincoln-Way East.

"It was reported that the coach in question stated she was sharing with the LWE runners that they call that event the 'Jungle,' and the HF team must have misunderstood what was said," Homewood-Flossmoor officials said.

Lincoln-Way District 210 on Tuesday said administrators had spoken with the athletes involved to investigate the incident. Officials said they had been contacted a statement released by Homewood-Flossmoor High School before Lincoln-Way's administration could complete its investigation of the claims.

"Based on interviews of its cross-country coaching staff and female student-athletes this morning, Lincoln-Way’s administration learned that, prior to the meet on Saturday morning, Lincoln-Way East coaches merely recounted a well-known story about an area of the Lyons Township course referred to as 'the jungle,'" said Jen Vujosevic, director of community relations for District 210 in an emailed statement.

"This area is labeled as such on publicly available maps of the course. According to the coaching staff and student-athletes, at the time of the meet Saturday morning, they were not even aware of the events that took place on Friday, September 4, 2026 at the schools’ football game at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. In addition, Lyons Township meet officials confirmed no complaint or any form of racial allegation involving Lincoln-Way East was brought to their attention."

A parent present at the invitational Saturday told Patch Tuesday that Homewood-Flossmoor High School's account of the incident was inaccurate and that any comments were misinterpreted. The Lincoln-Way East team was unaware of Friday's incident at the time of the event, the parent said. The area in which the girls were running is heavily wooded, the parent said, with many referring to it as "The Jungle."

"... the Lincoln-Way administration is confident that neither its staff nor student athletes intended to harass, intimidate or offend any of their competitors or those competitors’ families," the District's statement reads. "Nevertheless, the entire Lincoln-Way school community recognizes the impact and sensitivity of the matter, particularly after the egregious and intolerable behavior displayed by certain Lincoln-Way East students during Friday’s football game.

"Lincoln-Way also acknowledges the immediate need to actively foster more cultural understanding and awareness within its school community. It does not, in any way, condone the actions of those students. We also apologize to all those involved. We are committed to ensuring that every student feels safe and included at school, and we will continue to prioritize racial understanding, inclusion, and awareness amongst the entire Lincoln-Way community. "

Homewood-Flossmoor High School administration said it plans to pursue legal action in the incident on Saturday, as well as the incident at Friday's football game.

"HF Community High School District wants all of our families to know, we do not take racial harassment incidents lightly," they said. "We are a community built on excellence and we will continue to stand together—with pride, respect, and with unwavering support for our students, staff and faculty."