Frankfort Falcons Coach Dismissed After Making Racial Slurs: Team

FRANKFORT, IL — A member of the Frankfort Falcons football, cheerleading and flag coaching staff was dismissed one day after reports of racial slurs directed at a Black referee during a Wednesday night league game, according to Frankfort Falcons President Greg Ristich.

The incident happened Oct. 6, during a game for the Falcons' super-lightweight football team, Ristich said, adding that the coach was ejected from the game and made the racial slurs after he left the field.

"We addressed the situation immediately and the coach was dismissed," Ristich said.

Ristich, who was not present at the game, said he was informed of the incident the following day, and the Frankfort Falcons decided to ban the coach from all future Falcons' and River Valley Youth Football League events. Ristich declined to name the coach who made the slurs.

The team emailed players' parents following the Oct. 6 game, notifying them of what happened and what actions were taken, according to Ristich.

Ristich said the Falcons' Board met Tuesday night to further discuss the incident and decided that the coach had violated the Falcons' code of conduct.

"From the perspective of the Falcons organization, we took swift and severe action with the coach, who is no longer part of the organization, and communicated to the team as to the action that was taken," Ristich said. "We feel like we did the right thing, and that's really all we can do."

The Frankfort Falcons are part of the 10-team River Valley Youth Football League, but the Oct. 6 game was not an official River Valley game. However, because the violation of the code of conduct was so egregious, Ristich said he felt it was appropriate to inform the River Valley League of the incident.

For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Frankfort Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!