The mother of a Lisbon High School football player said the whooping sounds, drums and chants used by opposing players and fans Friday night were racist and offensive, according to a story in the Portland Press Herald and Sun Journal newspapers.
Amelia Tuplin and her son, quarterback Lucas Francis, are full-blooded Mi’kmaqs who have lived in Lisbon for 13 years, the newspapers reported. On Friday night, Lisbon played at Wells High School, whose team is named the Warriors.
“Your team, students and spectators mocked our families’ heritage, including my son, quarterback Lucas Francis, by painting their faces, banging on fake drums that included 5-gallon buckets, singing mock chants, performing mock dances, and continuously making hand-over-mouth sounds,” Tuplin wrote in a letter to the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District superintendent, the newspapers reported. “It was the most ultimate display of racism on the largest scale I’ve ever seen.”
Tuplin reportedly said she’s not offended by every use of Indians or Warriors as a team mascot, but that the activity by the Wells students and fans crossed the line and “made a mockery of my culture.”
The Wells area superintendent told the newspapers there will “be a very thoughtful and prudent investigation” into Tuplin’s allegations.
Wells, ranked No. 1 in Class D South, defeated third-ranked Lisbon in the game 36-6.
Lisbon is the defending Class D South champion and is now 6-1 while Wells is 7-0.
Lisbon hosts Oak Hills of Wales in a regular-season finale at 1:30 p.m. Saturday before the playoffs begin the next weekend.
Lisbon and Wells could meet again this season in the playoffs.