A Harford County mom said her daughter and her Magnolia Middle School basketball teammates were subjected to racial slurs, harassment and name-calling while they awaited a game in the Bel Air Middle School cafeteria earlier this month.

Deanna Gast, of Edgewood, said her sixth grader, who is biracial, and her teammates were confronted by Bel Air Middle students before their Jan. 7 afternoon matchup. Bel Air students asked Magnolia students: “Why are you so Black?” and made other racist comments, according to Gast’s daughter.

Gast said she was not aware of the situation until the principal at Bel Air Middle spoke during halftime of the game, stating that the incident was under investigation and apologizing for the students’ behavior.

“Our students should be able to visit another school and feel safe and respected,” Gast wrote in a Facebook post the day after the game. “Instead, they were met with hostility and blatant disrespect.”

Following the incident, Gast said she received phone calls from the Bel Air Middle principal and the Harford County Board of Education, who she said apologized for the situation.

Harford County Public Schools said it was aware of the situation. The school system said an investigation was conducted and concluded, but added it could not discuss specific disciplinary measures for students.

“We take all accusations seriously and do not condone or allow the use of racial slurs, name calling and harassment,” the school system said in an emailed statement.

Gast said she made the post to her Facebook page with the underlying message of encouraging parents to “get better about raising our kids.”

“School sporting events should never feel hostile, and racism has absolutely no place in our schools,” the post said.

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