Asian American Teen Called Racial Slur, Punched During Basketball Game in Oakland

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SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) — A San Jose teenager was punched in the head and allegedly called racial slurs during a tournament basketball game on Saturday in Oakland and it was all caught on video.

What makes the situation even worse, the attacked player’s parents said, is that the players behind the physical altercation were only reprimanded after frustrated parents demanded something be done.

The physical confrontation, which was caught on camera and obtained by KPIX 5, shows Lennie and Eduardo’s son, Evan (last names were not given for fear of retaliation) at a tournament game at the Soldiertown gym in Oakland.

In the video, Evan is seen trying to grab a loose ball before an opposing player reaches it. That player passes the ball to a teammate and then is seen pushing Evan. Evan gets up and is then pushed to the ground by a second opposing player standing nearby.

Words are exchanged before Evan walks away and returns to the player, who then punches Evan in the head.

“Not one single parent stood up to go protect my son, I ran across the gym to get him,” Lennie said.

She said that, well before the punch, the other team — the San Francisco Generals — repeatedly called Evan and his South Bay Snipers teammates a racial slur used against Asians.

“They did use the ‘C’ word,” Lennie said.

“Two-thirds of the team are Asian,” Eduardo said.

A witness named Olivia, who also didn’t want her last name released, said her son who also played at the tournament heard the alleged racial abuse on the court.

“Several of the boys said they were using a lot of profanity using the ‘B’ word using the ‘C’ word,” Olivia said.

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