The Bishop Manogue Catholic High School girls basketball team in Nevada finished with a 26-1 record this past season under head coach Sara Schopper-Ramirez. But unfortunately, despite all of the success, Schopper-Ramirez lost her job for a truly horrific reason regarding what players she decided to play.
The majority of the top players on the team happened to be minorities. And in a conversation with the Reno Gazette-Journal, Schopper-Ramirez detailed that this was something she was “warned about” by school President Matthew Schambari and Athletic Director Frank Lazarak.
“I think that we’ve got to be super intentional about not supporting or creating a narrative where it looks like,” A man was heard saying on a recording of a conversation between Schopper-Ramirez, President Matthew Schambari, and Athletic Director Frank Lazarak. “Oh we’re bringing in, we are paying to bring in these brown kids to come win us basketball games and the white kids don’t get to play.”
In a statement to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Schopper-Ramirez said that she simply played her best players, which simultaneously led to the team’s success, and ultimately her firing in her belief.
“I played my best players this season,” Schopper-Ramirez told the RGJ. “I have not even researched who has scholarships. I played the players that work hard and get the job done.”
For a coach to be fired for simply playing their best players, regardless of skin color can only be described as disgusting on all levels. Not to mention that the players on the team will now be without an excellent coach whom they thrived under this year.
Fortunately, this story does have a bit of a happy ending in terms of the justice served against both Frant Lazarak and Matthew Schambari.
Lazarak recently stepped down from his role after this story emerged. And Matthew Schambari went on voluntary unpaid leave.
