High school track coach in Pennsylvania resigns over racial slur

Jet, March 17, 1997

A high school track coach in Sewickley, PA, recently resigned after he told a Black student he'd send the KKK for a visit if she didn't join his team.

Coach Kenneth Johns Jr. made the remark to a 15-year-old Black female student at Quaker Valley High School after she said she wanted to remain a cheerleader instead of joining the track team.

Lauren Harris, the girl's father, told WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh that Johns told his daughter, "If you don't go out for track, I'm going to send the Ku Klux Klan up to your front lawn."

Johns, who is a retired teacher, is also mayor of Sewickley, a small town on the outskirts of Pittsburgh.

"It was an inappropriate remark," said superintendent Gerard Longo of the Quaker Valley School District outside Pittsburgh. "As a result, he has resigned his position. He explained that he meant it one way and it was received another."