'Racist, Hateful' Email Sent To Fairfax County Cheer Coach: District

OAKTON, VA — Officials with Fairfax County Public Schools are searching for answers after an anonymous email containing racist and hate-filled language was sent to Oakton High School's cheerleading coach.

The email was sent in March and received by coach Jillian Domenech in March, WTOP first reported. According to a statement released by Fairfax County NAACP, the writer spoke on behalf of many parents who "would not feel comfortable with another [person of color] coaching cheerleading."

The Fairfax County NAACP released a portion of the email:

"Many of us would not feel comfortable with another [person of color] coaching cheerleading at Oakton. While this may be seen as racist or having a prejudice against certain races of people, the last two years have shown that this is just not something that has worked out. Our school and history of coaches have been predominantly white. Many of the girls were shocked to see another coach last season with such dark and strong features."

Jamie Lane, principal at Oakton High School, confirmed the school's new cheer coach received the email in a letter sent to families.

"The coach reported the email to me and our Director of Student Activities. Our technology staff tried to identify the sender but were unsuccessful," Lane said.

Police were also unable to track the email, WTOP reported.

In a follow-up letter sent to families, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said the district had launched a third-party investigation into the email, which she called "racist, hateful, and discriminatory."

"Regardless of the outcome of the investigation of this hateful message, we must ensure that our communities, including our schools, are safe places for all to live and learn," Reid wrote. "Together, we must stand up and say in one voice, 'Enough!'"

In a statement, officials with Fairfax County NAACP condemned the school district for failing to "act with urgency" and an overall lack of action concerning the email.

"The ongoing communication between the Fairfax County NAACP's Education Committee and FCPS staff has yielded ever more entrenched efforts to obfuscate and deflect blame, rather than to accept the reality of the situation and deal with it effectively," the NAACP said. "The more time that passes where children are subjected to a threat of unknown origin and unknown magnitude, the greater the danger to their physical and emotional well-being."

NAACP officials also requested a third-party, independent investigation into the email.

Faith Dabrio, the former cheerleading coach at Oakton High School, told WTOP she cried when she read the email after it was sent to her by a parent. According to Dabrio, she was mentioned by name in the anonymous email.

Dabrio told WTOP she stepped down after receiving a threat on social media and the departure of another coach.

"My skin color has nothing to do with how I do my job," Dabrio said.