I.C. Norcom High School senior Alaila Everett made headlines when, during a relay event at the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 Indoor Championships, she hit Brookville junior Kaelen Tucker over the head with her baton.
In the days since, amid a wave of backlash against her, Everett has claimed that her baton got “stuck” behind Tucker’s back and that she did not strike her on purpose. The impact of the blow was such that, in addition to falling out of the race and off the track, Tucker suffered a concussion and may have sustained a skull fracture.
“After a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this, and it rolled up her back. I lost my balance when I pumped my arms again. She got hit,” Everett claimed when interviewed by local news outlet WAVY.
Everett also complained that people were responding to her actions without viewing it from multiple angles: “It’s like they are going off of one angle.”
“Everybody has feelings, so you’re physically hurt, but you’re not thinking of my mental, right?” Everett continued. “They are assuming my character, calling me ghetto and racial slurs, death threats … all of this off of a nine-second video.”
Everett’s mother agreed, although she did not base her assessment on any video at all. “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,” she said.
Tucker’s mother, Tamarrow Tucker, also spoke with a local news outlet and said that she would have liked to see an apology.
“No apologies. No coaches. No athlete. No anything. Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe it was … nothing,” she told a local ABC News affiliate.
Everett and her relay team were disqualified for interfering with another runner. The VHSL also released a statement to Fox New Digital, saying, in part, “The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct. 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.”
