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TO THE EDITOR: While attending the high school football game Friday night (Sept. 28), we were falsely accused of making racial remarks to City Councilman Nathaniel Cullars. The city police and high school principal, Steve Echols, were notified by someone unspecified to us that we were yelling racial slurs at Nathanial Cullars. Police came up into the stands questioning us and people surrounding us then went back to report to Mr. Echols, Mr. Cullars and Wilkes County School Superintendent, Mrs. Joyce Williams. Shortly thereafter, Principal Echols, Councilman Cullars and several police officersreturned to the stands where Mr. Cullars directed them to our location in the stands. Members of the police department and Principal Echols escorted us out of the stands then told us we were to leave the game and the grounds under the orders of School Superintendent Williams. This action was extremely embarrassing and totally unnecessary. This situation could have been handled in a much more professional manner by Superintendent Williams but she chose to back up Councilman Cullars even though witnesses in the stands had already told the police that none of us, or anyone else for that matter, had yelled out any racial slurs. Mrs. Williams never spoke to anyone in the stands personally. Among witnesses in the stands were a deputy sheriff, a Georgia State Patrolman, and a few Wilkes County school employees whom would have verified our innocence to her. This never happened and we would like to know WHY. This was an extremely unprofessional act on the part of Mrs. Williams. We three have agreed to take a polygraph test with the GBI to prove that no racial remarks were ever said to Nathanial Cullars by ourselves or anyone else within our hearing range in the upper stands of the stadium. This whole matter is absurd and we demand a public written apology from Mrs. Joyce Williams for her actions that night and from Nathaniel Cullars for his false accusations against us. We regret any of this ever occurred. What started out to be a great night for Tiger football and homecoming quickly turned into a racial nightmare. If no apologies are issued then further actions will be taken against the Wilkes County School system and Councilman Nathaniel Cullars as this is slanderous against us all. We would like to thank everyone questioned who was decent enough to tell the police officersthe "TRUTH" that night and also thank the officersthemselves who tried to stand up for us. Jack M. Thurmond, Jr. Kenneth A. Sifre Robbie C. Hardigre | |||||
