Iowa teacher on leave following racist comments about high school basketball team

Two radio station employees made racist comments about Latino basketball players from Eagle Grove High School last week on a video that was broadcast live online.

Both employees have been fired. KIOW radio in Forest City released a statement apologizing for the employees' comments during a Tuesday boys' basketball game between Eagle Grove and Forest City.

In the video, which appears to capture a conversation during a radio commercial break, the pair opine that there are a lot of "Español people" in Eagle Grove and comment on the basketball players' names, questioning whether or not they're "foreigners."

The man in the video is Orin Harris, a longtime broadcaster of Forest City athletics. The woman, whose voice is heard over the phone, is board operator Holly Jane Kusserow-Smidt, according to television station KIMT.

Kusserow-Smidt works as a third-grade teacher at Forest City Elementary School. She has been placed on paid leave by the school district, said Forest City Superintendent Darwin Lehmann.

She was not working in a school capacity when she made the comments, Lehmann said. Kusserow-Smidt has worked for the district since 1975. The district is working with its legal counsel and examining its policies to determine what actions to take next, he said.

"The comments made are inconsistent with our values and policy," Lehmann said.

The radio station declined to confirm the names of the people heard in the broadcast. 

WATCH THE BROADCAST HERE: 

KIOW manager Karl Woodridge declined to comment beyond a statement posted online.

The two also made reference to President Donald Trump.

"As Trump would say, go back to where you came from," Harris said.

Kusserow-Smidt responds saying, "Some would say that. Some days I feel like that too."

Transcript: Here's the conversation between Harris and Kusserow-Smidt that got them fired

The district will continue to stream games with KIOW and Lehmann said he believes this is an isolated incident.

Wright County, home to Eagle Grove, was 11.4 percent Latino in 2016; the demographics firm Woods & Poole Economics projects that figure to be almost 32 percent by 2050. A large pork processing plant is under construction near Eagle Grove.

Census data show that about 5 percent of the population of the city of Forest City is Latino.

EARLIER: Can Iowa's rising Latino population save some of its dying small towns?

Eagle Grove Superintendent Jess Toliver said Lehmann called Tuesday evening to inform him about the broadcast.

By 10:50 p.m., Lehmann and the radio manager were on the phone with Toliver to apologize, he said.

Apology letters from both KIOW and the Forest City school district were sent to Eagle Grove, Toliver said.

"It’s disappointing when our students go somewhere and aren’t treated with the respect they deserve," Toliver said.

He said Eagle Grove coaches and the students are involved in conversations about how to handle the situation and move forward, Toliver said.

"I have a letter of apology from Forest City schools, even though they handled the situation great, and I talked to the (radio) manager and owner to let them know our concerns and frustrations," Toliver said.

The video was broadcast on the Cube, an online video service local high schools use.

Joe Enriquez Henry of Des Moines, national vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said Monday that he wants the Iowa Department of Education to investigate the incident because it involved a teacher and an Iowa school event.

“We want to address this with the governor and the Department of Education. What is being taught in our schools to have this happen? This is just terrible and we are not going to tolerate it.” 

Henry said he is particularly concerned that one of the persons involved is an Iowa teacher.

EARLIER: Southwest Iowa students disciplined over photo with white hoods, cross burning