San Diego County’s Human Relations Commission says it’s ‘seriously disturbed’ about tortilla incident

San Diego County’s new Human Relations Commission is holding a special meeting Monday to discuss the racial controversy that arose after a recent basketball game between Coronado High and Escondido’s Orange Glen High.

After the June 21 basketball game ended, an altercation ensued between the two teams in the gym, during which at least two Coronado players threw tortillas into the air at the Orange Glen team, which is mostly Latino. The incident triggered protests and scores of public comments at recent school board meetings.

The San Diego County Human Relations Commission said in a statement Friday that it is “seriously disturbed” about “reports of recent hate incidents” and “related characterizations” of events at the game. The commission will hold a virtual discussion at 5 p.m. Monday.

The Coronado Unified School District, Escondido Union High School District, Coronado police and the California Interscholastic Federation launched investigations, and Coronado’s school board fired its head basketball coach Tuesday.

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The California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school athletics, announced Thursday that it expects to issue a ruling next week after reviewing the internal investigations by each school district.

It is unclear what may result from the special meeting of the Human Relations Commission. It said in a statement that Monday’s meeting will “begin discussions on addressing this and similar issues with proactive action that can provide support for our youth.”

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors created the commission in May 2020 after a prior commission was defunded in the 1990s. It is supposed to advise the supervisors and county staff and to promote positive human relations and respect.

“The HRC stands in solidarity with our community against bias, bigotry, and racism, and will continue to monitor the next steps taken by the Coronado District and the CIF office in the best interest of our county youth and our community,” the appointed body said in its statement.

The commission’s meeting will be held online at zoom.us/j/98335215929. People can sign up in advance to give public comments by submitting an online form at sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/lwhrc/request-to-speak.html.