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Lunenburg cancels remainder of football season after racist incident

LUNENBURG, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – Lunenburg school officials have announced the cancellation of the rest of the football season following a reported racist graffiti incident.

At a press conference Monday, Lunenburg's superintendent Loxi Jo Calmes announced that the high school would forfeit the remainder of its games this season.

Last Friday, the school's football game against Oakmont Regional High School was postponed after racist graffiti was found spray-painted on a player's home.

"Knights don't need n******," the graffiti read.

Isaac Phillips, the apparent target of the graffiti, is one-quarter black. His father, Anthony Phillips, is half black, and his mother, Brazier, is white.

Brazier reported the graffiti to police, who notified the school.

In a statement to the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, Calmes said:

"It was concerning enough to the coaches and administrators that we decided that there would not be a game...What we've been told is a bit unsettling and we're going to make sure that things are looked into."

"When it comes to picking on kids or whatever it is, when it goes to another level, when property starts being damaged, someone should immediately try to do whatever they can to stop whatever's going on," Anthony Phillips said.

On Sunday,The Anti-Defamation League of New England released a statement about the incident.

"This brazen attack on the home of a high school football player warrants everyone's condemnation. This case is indicative of how school bullying can quickly escalate to a hate crime and civil rights violations, making it a community wide concern," said regional director Robert Trestan in the statement. "We applaud the Lunenburg police for making this case a top priority, and are confident that the offenders will be quickly apprehended."

So far, no one on the team had come forward with information or an admission of who wrote the graffiti.

Isaac Phillips said he hadn't been having trouble with anyone until recently, when his bike tires were slashed and cleats were taken from his locker and water poured into them.

No matter what happens to the perpetrators, Isaac said he is switching schools, from Lunenburg to Leominster.