UPDATE: LCA Coaches Meet With STM Student Seen on Camera Using Racial Slur, Ask For Grace & Mercy

The thriller of a state championship showdown between STM and LCA was even wilder than advertised but a video that was allegedly recorded at the game has sparked major backlash on social media.

UPDATE:

LCA Coaches Reggie Williams and Trev Faulk met with the young man accused of using the racial slur for a full circle moment—turning a negative situation into a positive teachable opportunity for us to show "mercy" and "grace."

ORIGINAL STORY:

St. Thomas More racked up three late scores including a last-minute onside kick to stun Lafayette Christian Academy 52-48 and claim their second Select Division II state title in the last three seasons and the school's sixth overall.

The outcome will most certainly play a factor when it comes to the cross-town rivalry between the two Lafayette Parish schools whose fans sometimes go at it on social media just as fiercely as the players compete on the field.

But while a little bit of jawing and (mostly) friendly competition is expected between cross-town rivals, both STM and LCA fans are denouncing a viral video that shows a young man using a slur to seemingly describe a player on the field.

The unidentified young man can be heard using the N-word, and while many have speculated that he is a student at St. Thomas More (among other Lafayette schools) there has been no confirmation on what school he attends.

Viewers on social media were shocked at the young man's casual use of the slur, calling it "abhorrent" and "disgusting."

Almost immediately, fans, students, parents, and alumni of both STM and LCA denounced the video—calling the young man's behavior unacceptable. Facebook user Maxwell Jones shared an update saying that the video and the slur weren't as shocking to him as the fact that someone recorded it and saw no problem posting it to social media.

LCA vs. STM‼️ One of the greatest high school games I have ever seen especially being from Lafayette! Both of these teams played their heart out and didn’t stop until it was over. Proud of both teams because every year they continue to put on a show for the state of Louisiana, and show everyone what Lafayette Parish Highschool Football is all about! They also showed very good sportsmanship throughout the game (I’m sure they were some words exchanged throughout the game😂) and displayed great examples of young men and not boys. This truly was a game to remember! Now my reason for this post is not to blast this kid all over social media so I will not post the video or show names but I am sure it will be out very soon to many people. My reason for this post was to show how powerful social media is in a good way and bad way. After one of STM wide receivers made a wonderful catch over two of LCA defensive backs STM went wild as they should have, but what really bothered me was that this one group of STM fans/students decided to make a video using a racial slur in it and post it on social media! When I saw this video I was not shocked at the fact of the racial slur I was shocked at the fact that they posted it on social media and were completely fine with it. I understand people will trash talk and words will come out of people’s mouth but in absolutely no circumstances should you put something like this on social media especially after coming out with a victory, the disrespect in this video was not just towards LCA but African Americans. I am not the one to ever egg on something but this I could not just let sit without saying something about it, because they were ok to post it on social media so I felt I should be ok to say something about it on social media. I really hope the best for this group of friends and hope they come to God and see the bigger picture in the world.

As the video went viral, many were outraged—not only that the young man would utter the slur, but would do so on camera when we've seen how quickly videos like this can circulate on social media.

Jamie Guidry is a graduate of STM, and while there is no confirmation that the young man at the center of the video attends the school, she says this is not what STM stands for saying that this type of behavior "starts at the home."

We will update this story when and if any new information is made available.