California Football ‘Slave Auction’ Would Not Happen in Idaho

It's hard to believe in 2022 that a group of California high school football players would hold a 'slave auction.' Unthinkable to all of us in Idaho and the rest of the country; however, according to multiple published reports, a high school football team held a slave action involving black players.

The high school where this incident, including a video of the auction, was River Valley High School. The fallout was so severe the team forfeited the rest of the season. We're all wondering, what were the students thinking? We all know the answer; they weren't thinking; we all assume they thought the 'slave auction' would be funny. Perhaps, the video was intended to go viral? Yes, we'd all see the humor in African Americans being sold like property by white people.

The school system has pledged to investigate how the athletes are trained. An investigation will not cure common sense; let us hope everyone realizes this was a dumb move and move on. Do we want to see the kids ostracized for the rest of their lives? Can common sense be taught by parents or teachers? Or is it learned the hard way through mistakes?

Folks like to attack our state as the home of militias and white supremacy. Anyone in Idaho knows those are false characterizations about the Gem State. Our state is one of America's most popular states to move to, regardless of the past. Could one imagine if this incident had happened in an Idaho high school instead of the one in California?

Our state, like others, is not perfect. However, the actions of those students in California would not happen in Idaho.