Emails Show Air Academy Coach Refused to Risk 'Racial Abuse' Against Lutheran, as District Stayed Quiet

Air Academy High School's head football coach told district leaders he would not expose his players to possible "racial abuse" by playing Lutheran High School of Parker, according to internal emails The Denver Post obtained through the Colorado Open Records Act.

The school's public announcement said the team was forfeiting its Oct. 9 homecoming game because it lacked enough coaches, and it made no mention of racism allegations against Lutheran. Players later said they backed the forfeit as a protest of the alleged conduct by students and adults at Lutheran's game against Sand Creek High School.

The emails show a split inside Colorado Springs' Academy District 20 between coach and dean Waymond Jackson, who chose to take a stand, and administrators who appear to have wanted the matter kept quiet. On Oct. 5, Jackson wrote to a district official that his decision was not "about football. It is about whether our kids are safe." Writing as a Black man responsible for young people in the district, he said he would not knowingly send students, managers and families into a setting where they might face racial abuse. Air Academy would not play, he said, unless the allegations were fully investigated and addressed with real accountability and concrete steps to prevent a repeat at its game.

The controversy began with a Sept. 24 game at Lutheran against Sand Creek. Several Sand Creek cheerleaders and their coach told The Post that Lutheran students and community members made racist remarks and gestures, including calling Black cheerleaders "Harriet Tubman," using slurs, whipping belts toward them and telling them to "go back to where they came from." Jackson also cited claims from Rampart High School staff that Lutheran players, parents and attendees directed slurs at Rampart families, behavior they called "disgusting and foul." He noted the reports came from two schools, across three games and two levels of play.

Jackson also criticized the district's response. "I consider it a slap in the face that Academy District 20 has not backed our decision not to play," he wrote, asking the district to formally support the decision and share it with Lutheran and the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA). Air Academy flag football coach Barry Clark told a parent in an Oct. 5 email that the district would not back the school if it declined to play. Another email from Becky Harris, the district's assistant superintendent for learning services, said Principal Amy Ripperger respected Jackson's decision but directed him not to tell his staff or students. On Oct. 7, Ripperger wrote that "we have zero coaches willing to coach on Friday night."

The district's Oct. 8 statement said it had worked with both schools to hold the game, limiting visiting fans to families of Lutheran players and adding security. It said "individual decisions affected the level of coaching participation available." District communications chief Mark Belcher said individual staff emails do not always reflect district positions and may lack context. Jackson told The Post he is not allowed to speak with the media.

CHSAA has found that Lutheran spectators and participants used discriminatory language and behaviors across multiple football and basketball events and has threatened suspension unless the school completes a corrective action plan. Lutheran executive director Dan Gehrke said the school condemns racism and will meet every CHSAA requirement. He said Lutheran had offered a spectator plan and a head coaches' meeting, and regretted that students lost the chance to compete. Coronado High School also forfeited its game against Lutheran.

Lutheran plays Montrose on Friday, its first game since the controversy emerged. Meanwhile, a Lutheran parent coalition has launched an online fundraiser for security and legal action involving CHSAA, media outlets and individuals who accused the school community of racism. As of Thursday it had raised more than $53,000 toward a $500,000 goal.