Segerstrom head football coach responds to racist allegations at football game vs. Marina

Segerstrom Coach Joseph Tagaloa (middle) leads his team out in an earlier game this season. (Photo courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone)

Segerstrom High football coach Joseph Tagaloa responded Sunday with comments about allegations that racist signs were posted at his team’s football game against Marina Friday night at Westminster.

“My thoughts are simple: it is unfortunate that we still have people with this mindset and I hope that one day we will be able to see past color and ethnicity,” Tagaloa said in a statement to OC Sports Zone.

It was the second incident involving alleged racism involving a Santa Ana high school at a football game in the past two years.

On Saturday, a joint statement was issued by presidents of the Huntington Beach Unified School District and Santa Ana Unified School District, acknowledging that “two student-generated signs with racial undertones were displayed near the entrance of the stadium and in front of the snack bar” at Friday’s Marina home game at Westminster High School.

The statement did not say what wording was used on the signs but a post on Twitter indicated that one of the signs was a derogatory message noting the skin color of the Segerstrom players. The majority of the Segerstrom players are Hispanic. Another sign made a derogatory reference to the pink socks the Segerstrom players were wearing in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many players in the county have worn pink in October.

OC Sports Zone can not confirm who posted the tweet, which included pictures of the signs allegedly posted at the game. (OC Sports Zone has a policy of only using named sources in stories).

“HBUHSD and Marina High School accept responsibility for the incident and apologize to the students, families and staff of Segerstrom High School,” the statement read in part.

OC Sports Zone has attempted to get comments from Marina High officials but has not received any as of Sunday afternoon.

Since the story came out Saturday, readers have been commenting on social media.

“School administrators should get their acts together,” said Chris Conlin, a former Orange County head high school coach. “Check and take down any offensive signs before the games start.”

Marina won the game 25-14 to inch closer to its league title since 1986. The game was hard-fought but there were no incidents report during the game among the teams or among fans. The players and coaches from both teams shook hands after the game.

It appears that Tagaloa and his players were not aware of the signs until after the game. Segerstrom players took the loss hard. The Jaguars (8-1, 1-1) still appear headed for the CIF playoffs (they were No. 2 in CIF Division 10 last week) and if Garden Grove upsets Marina and Segerstrom defeats Westminster, there would be a three-way tie for first place.

“At the end of the day, I told the boys this game is like life,” Tagaloa said in reference to the loss after the game, apparently not aware of the signs. “Things don’t always go your way and what you are going to be remembered by is how you pick yourself up when things don’t go your way. We’re going to get back at it on Monday and we have to prepare for Westminster. And at this point, it’s win or go home.

“From here on out, every game is literally a playoff game. I just need to make sure we are mentally ready to go come Monday.

“Obviously, I like to take care of business. It was in our hands tonight and unfortunately we didn’t get it done. Obviously, we will be watching the score next week (of Marina vs. Garden Grove) but I can’t count on someone else to do something for our team. It falls on me and I’ll take this loss. It’s on me.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com