Racial, hate speech-related ejections almost double in 2025: VHSL report
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Boys varsity football and soccer saw the highest reported ejections within the Virginia High School League (VHSL) for race, hate speech or foul, offensive language violations in 2025.
The data comes from a report released by the VHSL for fiscal years (FY) 2024 and 2025.
Boys varsity football player ejections due to using a racial slur and/or hate speech rose from 25 in FY2024 to 45 in FY2025.
This accounts for nearly all player ejections for using a racial slur and/or hate speech across any sport in FY2025, according to the VHSL.
The only other sport with such ejections is boys varsity soccer, which reported 6 ejections in FY2025 -- up by two from FY2024. Girls varsity soccer saw no player ejections for this reason.
Boys varsity soccer saw a total of 42 ejections for foul, abusive language in FY2024, which decreased to 33 in FY2025.
Player ejections amongst boys varsity football for foul, offensive language saw a slight increase from nine to 11 in FY2025, according to VHSL.
Across all six VHSL classifications, boys varsity football saw a total of 145 player ejections in FY2025, up only one from FY2024.
Football wasn't the only sport to see high numbers. Boys varsity soccer saw a total of 202 ejections across all classifications in FY2024 and 206 total ejections in FY2025.
VHSL's communications director, Mike McCall, shared the following statement with 8News:
"We take all ejections seriously and the two big areas of concern are football and boys soccer. Additionally, the increase from 25 (2024) to 45 (2025) in football for racial slur and/or hate speech is unacceptable."
The VHSL's mission statement is as follows:
"The Virginia High School League is an alliance of Virginia's public and approved non-boarding, non-public high schools that promotes education, leadership, sportsmanship, character and citizenship for students by establishing and maintaining high standards for school activities and competitions."
