The Virginia teen who was seen bashing an opponent’s head with a baton throughout a highschool monitor meet held a rally of supporters on Thursday to reiterate her innocence.
The rally got here simply sooner or later after she was served with a misdemeanor battery and assault cost.
The coed, Alaila Everett, held the rally exterior of her college, I.C. Norcom Excessive Faculty, in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Dozens of people have been seen attending the rally, as Everett delivered a tearful speech, the place she thanked her supporters whereas sobbing.
“Thank y’all for supporting me,” Everett mentioned to the supporters, as seen in footage by native Virginia information station WAVY. “There’s no one else that wanted to hear my story, except the people that know me and people that know I would never do anything like that, I would never harm anybody. I’m not a fighter, I’m not even confrontational, I wouldn’t even do that on purpose, and I thank y’all for believing in me. I love y’all.”
Everett’s speech was met with loud applause and a chant of “We stand with you.”
Portsmouth NAACP President James Boyd additionally spoke on the rally, alleging threats and slurs which have been directed at Everett’s household.
“The Everett family has experienced racial slurs, they’ve experienced death threats, and we think unequivocally that those things are unacceptable,” Boyd mentioned.
Area people activist Germain Inexperienced referred to as for unity from the group in assist of {the teenager}.
“It bothered me to my heart to see how the whole world was dragging this young lady, dragging her character based on what they thought they saw. I just wanted to step up, speak out, and bring unity and let this young lady know that the city of Portsmouth has her back,” Inexperienced mentioned.
Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Lawyer Workplace confirmed to Fox Information Digital Wednesday that one misdemeanor cost of assault and battery had been filed over the incident.
The incident occurred final Tuesday throughout a championship meet, as footage confirmed Everett smashing her baton onto the pinnacle of Brookville Excessive Faculty junior Kaelen Tucker throughout a relay race.
Everett and her entire crew have been disqualified.
Tucker was later identified with a concussion and doable cranium fracture, as footage of the incident went viral.
Everett has since mentioned the hits have been unintended, in interviews with WAVY and “Good Morning America.”
The Virginia Excessive Faculty League (VHSL) beforehand issued an announcement to Fox Information Digital on the matter.
“The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA,” the league’s assertion learn. “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.”
Fox Information Digital has reached out to the Portsmouth Public Faculty District for remark from the Everett household.
Previous to the misdemeanor costs being introduced on Everett, the Portsmouth NAACP launched an announcement defending the embattled teen on Wednesday.
“Alaila is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful. We understand the sensitivity of the circumstances for both athletes and their families involved but this narrative must not go unaddressed,” the assertion learn.
“Alaila is an honor student and a star athlete at the historic I.C. Norcom High School. From all accounts, 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.”
Fox Information Digital’s Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
