Lincoln High investigating racial taunts from San Clemente High fans at football game

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. - The principal of Lincoln High School in San Diego has launched an investigation after hearing reports that students attending a football game at San Clemente High in Orange County were subject to racial taunts and slurs, it was reported Monday.

Lincoln Principal Stephanie Brown sent a letter to parents informing them that several students attending the game Friday night were "met with racial slurs by fans of the other team."

The cheerleading squad left the game early because of the taunts, reports stated.

In the letter posted on Facebook, Brown said school officials were taking the incident very seriously and that a vice principal planned to interview all students involved to document the incident Monday.

In a tweet, The Orange County Sheriff's Department responded to "inaccurate" claims deputies did not respond to requests for assistance. The statement reveals deputies were unaware of the alleged conduct from students and adults attending the game.

The department also stated they were informed toward the end of the game a student used inappropriate language, but the individual was unable to identify who used the language or what type of language was used. 

Multiple people at the game -- including students and adults -- heckled Lincoln players and the cheer squad during the game, using racial slurs including the "n-word,'' according to Clovis Honore, the president of the San Diego branch of the NAACP.

Honore posted a later on the NAACP website titled "Racial harassment has no place in high school athletics'' that was sent to Orange County school officials.

Lincoln's head coach, David Dunn, said that players on the field didn't hear any of the comments but said they heard about it at halftime from the drill team and cheerleaders.

There weren't any racial comments made by San Clemente players or coaches, Dunn told reporters Monday.

According to state education data, Lincoln High's enrollment in 2018- 19 was 19 percent African American, 70 percent Hispanic and 3 percent white. San Clemente High was 62.6 percent white.

A spokesman for the Capistrano Unified School District told the Union-Tribune that school officials planned to review footage shot by at least four cameras inside the stadium and interview people who attended the game.

Officials at both schools asked anyone with specific details or cell phone videos or photographs to share that information with the school as officials try to identify individuals who were involved.

CNS contributed to this report.