What happened with the high school track runner who hit her opponent with a baton?
A Virginia high school track star has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after hitting an opposing runner over the head with a baton during a relay race captured on video.
Alaila Everett, a senior at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, told NBC affiliate WAVY that the incident in the viral video was an accident.
The sprinter who was struck by the baton, Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker, told NBC affiliate WSLS that she was diagnosed with a concussion and a possible fractured skull.
Everett has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, according to Bethan Harrison, the commonwealth's attorney for Lynchburg.
The controversial moment occurred during the 4x200-meter relay final at the Virginia High School League Class 3 State Indoor Championships at Liberty University on March 4.
Everett and Tucker were rounding a curve of the track when they nearly collided as Tucker began to pass Everett into the same lane. Everett can be seen pumping her arms while holding the baton, which is followed by Tucker clutching her head and falling to the ground in pain.
"As I was coming up on her, (Everett) kind of like made me get cut off a little bit, so I backed away, and then as we got around the curve, she kept bumping me in my arm," Tucker told WSLS. "And then finally when we got off the curve, I like slowly start passing her, and then that's when she just hit me with the baton and I fell off the track."
The I.C. Norcom team was disqualified from the race because of the incident.
"The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA. The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct," VHSL director of communications Mike McCall said in a statement to NBC News. "We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.'
A tearful Everett told WAVY that hitting Tucker with the baton was unintentional and came as a result of Tucker running so close to her.
'After a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this, and it rolled up her back," Everett said. "I lost my balance and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit. She was cutting in when it happened, when she should've waited a little bit longer."
"I know my intentions, and I would never hit someone on purpose," she added.
'I didn't have to see a first video, second video or tenth video. I know 100 percent that she would never do that to nobody,' Everett's mother, Zeketa Cost, told WAVY.
Everett, who is Black, said she has endured a racial backlash since the clip went viral and that people are judging her "off of one angle" from the video.
'They are assuming my character, calling me ghetto and racial slurs, death threats… all of this off of a nine-second video,' she said.
The Portsmouth NAACP announced in a statement that it will continue to "review the circumstance" of the baton incident.
"First, we want to make it abundantly clear that we denounce any type of racial slur or threat in any form towards anyone involved in the situation," the organization said in a statement.
The Portsmouth NAACP added that it believes involvement by the criminal justice system in this matter "is not warranted in this situation."
"Alaina is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful," the organization said. "She is an exceptional young leader and scholar whose athletic talent has been well-documented and recognized across our state. She has carried herself with integrity both on and off the field, and any narrative that adjudicates her guilty of any criminal activity is a violation of her due process rights."
Tucker's parents told WSLS they are looking for an apology from Everett and her track coach. They noted that the I.C. Norcom athletic director and Everett's parents have apologized to them.
"They were watching the video at the event, but no one apologized or came to check on her," Tucker's mother, Tamarro Tucker, told WSLS. "Even if it was a fluke or freak accident, you still would check on her."
Everett told WAVY that she tried to get in touch with Tucker, but Tucker blocked her on social media. Everett's family said they were served with court papers because Tucker's family wants a protective order against Everett.
Everett told WAVY she didn't apologize to Tucker in person at the track meet because she was following the instructions of her track coach.
The incident is under investigation by the VHSL, according to a statement by Portsmouth Public Schools.
"We are cooperating with the VHSL in its work. The division will support and follow the ruling that comes from the VHSL upon its completed investigation," Portsmouth Public Schools said in the statement.This article was originally published on TODAY.com
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Littman's research methods drew criticism from her own university and the broader research community because she based her conclusions largely on reports from self-selecting parents recruited from online forums that were unsupportive, or at least skeptical, of gender transition. They included 4thwavenow, which labels itself as 'a community of people who question the medicalization of gender-atypical youth.' Littman later published an amended version of the paper, responding to the controversy and clarifying that the behavior she observed did not amount to a formal diagnosis. Her work, however, continues to drive conservative calls to eliminate trans-inclusive policies in school and inspire the views of the Trump administration — and Lydia. 'There is no such thing as a trans child,' Lydia said. It is a debate where the voices of kids directly affected are often absent. J.J. Koechell, a Wisconsin 20-year-old, transitioned in sixth grade after a suicide attempt. 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National data show that less than a third of trans and nonbinary students say their home is gender-affirming. A 2021 study found that transgender adolescents assigned female at birth were more likely than other teens to report being psychologically traumatized by parents or other adults in the home. 'There have been kids whose parents have physically abused them and kicked them out of the house when this information is disclosed,' said Amelia Vance, president of the Public Interest Privacy Center and an expert on student privacy. Even before California passed the SAFETY Act, the state education agency and the California School Boards Association urged schools to get students' permission before informing parents about changes in their gender identity. When officials at Hart Unified High School District refused to meet with Lydia, they cited a state law that protects trans students' access to programs, sports and facilities that align with their gender identity. On the advice of an advocacy group, Lydia initially filed a public records request in search of a 'secret social transition' plan she believed Academy of the Canyons maintained. She also asked for communications between her child and teachers using the 'non-birth name.' The district turned her down. Contacted by The 74, Hart Unified spokeswoman Debbie Dunn declined to answer questions about the investigation or Lydia's experience, but said officials would 'continue to follow the laws and procedures applicable to the district.' In January 2023, Lydia spoke at a school board meeting about being shut out by the district. Her story caught the attention of Board Member Joe Messina, a conservative radio talk show host. 'She came up to the podium one night and she was crying,' he said. 'She looked at the superintendent and said, 'I've reached out to you. You've not called me back'. She looked to the trustee who handles her area and she said, 'I've left you four messages. You've never called me back.' ' 'There have been kids whose parents have physically abused them and kicked them out of the house when this information is disclosed.' Amelia Vance, Public Interest Privacy Center Messina and Lydia talked after the meeting, and he connected her with the Pacific Justice Institute, a right-leaning law firm. He noted that the issue transcended their political differences. 'Lydia's a lifelong Democrat, and I'm an outspoken Republican,' Messina said. 'For her and I to come together — the rest of the world would say, 'What's wrong with you people?'' Even with advocates on her side, Lydia continued to face obstacles. For months, the Academy of the Canyons declined to release an autobiographical English essay written by her child under the name Toby. The district finally turned it over on advice from their lawyers. The essay revealed the child's trepidation about coming out to Lydia. The piece recounted a moment before the pandemic, when the student, then 11, broached the subject of being queer. Lydia said her child was first exposed to LGBTQ issues while participating in a homeschool theater group. 'The weather was overcast, and we were driving home from theater rehearsal,' the then-10th grader wrote. 'Once again summoning all my courage, I mentioned to her that one of my friends had confided in me about their attraction to girls, and that I too might be queer. Unfortunately, my mom's immediate response was dismissive and critical.' As parent-child confrontations often go, Lydia remembers it differently. She said she treated the declaration as a teachable moment.'We talked about what that word meant,' she said, 'and why I felt she had time as she grew up to really know what sexual orientation she would be.' In a memo, the district's lawyers also named the elephant in the room — that officials had been withholding the essay out of a desire to shield the child's shifting gender identity. 'In general, parents have the statutory right to review a student's classwork/homework,' the memo stated. 'This issue becomes clouded … if the classwork could reveal a student's gender identity/expression.' Despite refusing to accept that her child was transgender, Lydia said she tried to stay connected. In 2023, they attended over a dozen concerts together, seeing Hozier, Bastille and Penelope Scott — experiences that Lydia called 'part of the healing process.' The two went on a long-promised trip to Europe, during which Lydia gave her child an ultimatum: stop identifying as a boy or go back to being homeschooled. That fall, the school agreed to honor Lydia's wishes to cease social transitioning, but her child still resisted, asking teachers to continue using the name Toby. This time, the district let Lydia know. Lydia did not make her child available for an interview, saying 'she isn't ready to tell her side of the story.' Nearly two years later, she says her child, who graduated from high school last week, 'wants to put it all behind her.' While the teen identifies as a girl, the changes have been subtle. There are days when she dresses in what her mom called 'oversized, ugly boy shirts' and others when she does her makeup and wears more feminine clothes. Recently, she switched back to her birth name on all of her social media accounts. 'I get a little choked up,' Lydia said, 'but that's pretty huge.' The story might have ended there, but Lydia's two-minute plea to the Hart school board, shared across social media, reached other parent rights advocates just as Trump renewed his campaign for the White House. When the president took office, Hamill, with the California Justice Center, seized the opportunity to file a complaint with an administration guided by Project 2025, the right-wing Heritage Foundation's blueprint for the president's second term. Requiring schools to notify parents if a student changes their gender identity, which six states already do, is one of the tenets of the plan. Heritage expert Lindsey Burke, who joined the department Friday, also wants Congress to give FERPA more teeth by allowing parents to sue under the law. Currently, parents can only file a grievance with their state or the Education Department's privacy office — complaints that can languish for years. Privacy laws 'are a core part of [the administration's] arguments for how parental rights need to be respected and strengthened,' said Vance, the privacy expert. But the potential for lawsuits under FERPA, she added 'would be extremely messy and expensive for schools.' In April, the House education committee advanced a bill — the PROTECT Kids Act — that would require elementary and middle schools to secure parental consent before students change their pronouns or preferred names or use different bathrooms or locker rooms. The committee debate demonstrated the deep divisions over gender identity and how schools should accommodate LGBTQ students. Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat who is gay, offered a personal story. 'When I came out to my parents, it was at a time, place and manner of my own choosing,' he said. 'I would not have wanted anyone else to make that decision for me.' To Hamill, gender transition is much more than 'coming out' because it can lead to physical changes that some young adults later regret. Research shows that figure is about 1%, a fraction of those who undergo surgery. Even so, she said California's policies add up to an elaborate 'concealment scheme' that pits children against their parents. 'If you suspect the parents are abusive and they're going to harm the child, you have to report that to [child protective services],' she said. 'But the government cannot by default assume that every parent is harmful and is going to reject and hurt their children.'
