OSSAA Severs All Ties With Announcer & His Company After Racist Remarks

OSSAA ‘Shocked And Deeply Frustrated’

By: Brieon Sumlin

(News9) – Less than a week after Matt Rowan was heard during a live broadcast making racist remarks about the Norman High School girls basketball team, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association has released an additional statement.

The OSSAA said Tuesday the association is committed to ensuring that neither Rowan or his company will ever broadcast OSSAA regular season or playoff events again.

In the statement OSSAA said in part:

We are shocked and deeply frustrated. We reiterate that racism and bigotry have no place in our activities.We recognize the harm done to so many people by Matt Rowan’s outrageous comments.

The “outrageous comments” are in reference to the game announcer saying a racial slur as the team kneeled during the national anthem.

“While the comments I made would certainly seem to indicate that I am racist, I am not, I have never considered myself to be a racist, and in short cannot explain why I made these comments,” Rowan said in a statement released Friday.

Related: Announcer Cites Low Blood Sugar For Making Racist Comments About Girls Basketball Team Kneeling During National Anthem

Monday, after winning the 6A girls state championship the Norman players condemned the racist comments.

“What happened during the state tournament is exactly why we decided to kneel in the first place,” said junior Myka Perry. “You don’t have to agree with us kneeling, but you do have to respect it. Just how we respect people’s decision to stay standing during the anthem.”

Read: Norman High School Basketball Team Speaks Out Against Racist Comment After Winning State Championship

The OSSAA said it is working on putting measures in place to avoid similar situations from happening again in the future.

“We again apologize to the Norman High School girls basketball team, their families, and the Norman Public Schools, and deeply regret that these comments were made during an OSSAA-organized playoff event. Although it is difficult to see what is in a person’s heart, we will be working to put measures in place that will help ensure that something like this will not happen again in our activities.”