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The player approached a home to sell a "fundraising item" when the homeowner called the player a racial slur among other statements on Saturday, Aug. 13, Enfield Superintendent Christopher J. Drezek said in a statement. The student then called his coach and parents who arrived at the scene shortly after.
"Although this did not happen in a school, it happened to one of our kids during a fundraiser for one of our athletic teams," Drezek said. "This type of behavior is not only unacceptable, but also repulsive."
Police were also called to look into the incident and later interviewed the homeowners, players and other potential witnesses. Elle Debeatham has lived in Enfield for 17 years and said she was not surprised that the incident happened.
"It’s disgusting how I’ve seen people be judged, mistreated, left out, and bullied for the color of their skin," she told Daily Voice. "[The] older generation will make you uncomfortable. Stare you down. Intimidate you even if you 'look' like you don’t belong."
However in an exclusive interview with Daily Voice, the homeowner involved in the exchange said the whole situation was a misunderstanding.
After waking up that morning, Michelle Galbraith described seeing a large Black male reaching into the back of her son’s truck for a Donald Trump flag. She did not recognize him and said he was wearing his football jersey around his neck.
Galbraith became frightened and her scream awoke her son, Chris Oliver, who shouted out the window for the teenager to get off their property. That’s when he uttered the N-word, which both say was a mistake.
“He wasn't trying to be anything racial," Galbraith said. "He was just trying to protect me. We're not racist in this house whatsoever.”
Galbraith, who worked in the Enfield Public School system, said she was hurt that the school was condemning her and that residents started vandalizing and protesting outside her house. Overall, both feel that the entire situation was blown out of proportion and made to look like they are something they are not.
“We live in fear,” Galbraith “We don't know if we're going to get vandalized again [or] if someone's going to shoot up our house or burn our house down. That's how we feel right now.”
"That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard that I like to treat people [based off their color],” Oliver said. “We treat people based off of how they act.”
The incident was discussed at the football team's first practice of the season on Tuesday, Aug. 16 and additional resources were being offered to students as well. The Town Council is also hosting a Community Conversation on Race, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Tuesday, Aug. 23 to further discuss the matter.
"To make progress, we need to embark on this together," Drezek said. "This will require all of us to have difficult but necessary conversations. This will also require us to talk, but more importantly, to listen to one another, whether we agree with one another or not."
Even with this initiative, Debeatham says a lot more needs to be done before any progress is made.
"To address the issue means they have to admit there’s a problem," she said. "They’ll maybe make a small example out of the disgusting person, but to say it’ll cause change is a joke to the people who have actually been hurt in this town."
For more information about the event, residents can contact the Town Manger's Office at 860-253- 6350 or email townmanager@enfield.org.
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