The Virginia high school sprinter accused of smacking her opponent on the back of the head with a baton shouted at her younger competitor during the alleged attack, according to a report.
Alaila Everett was the baton-wielding senior who was running the second leg for I.C. Norcom High School girl’s 4×200 meter relay team where she allegedly hit Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker at the VHSL Class 3 State Indoor Championships at Liberty University on March 7.
While the speed at which the girls were running and the distance the camera was away from the track hampered the audio and video quality, one expert believes she figured out what Everett said.
“Get off” and “hey oh,” the Portsmouth, Va., area runner uttered as she struck Tucker, LipReader founder Nicola Hickling told the Daily Mail.
The two runners had been battling for second place when the feud boiled over as they came out of turn four.
Tucker attempted to cut into lane one, in front of Everrett, who seemingly tried to block the move as the two runners rubbed elbows coming out of the turn.
“When we got to the curve she kept bumping me in my arm and when we got off the curve I finally passed her and that was when she hit me with the baton,” explained to WSLS.
As Tucker took sole possession of second place, she was struck by Everett’s baton, grabbed her head and diverted off the track as she fell to the ground.
Everett’s arm made another bashing motion, missing Tucker’s head for a second hit and dropping her baton and she ran past her ailing opponent, pointing at her.
Doctors examined Tucker after the race and diagnosed her with a concussion and “possible skull fracture.”
Everett, a senior, claimed in a tearful interview that it was an accident.
“I know my intentions and I would never hit someone on purpose,” Everett told WAVY.com.
Everett claimed she was the target of death threats and racial slurs after the incident went viral.
“Everybody has feelings, so you’re physically hurt, but you’re not thinking of my mental,” she told the outlet.
She says she tried to reach out to Tucker but was blocked on social media.
“They are assuming my character, calling me ‘ghetto’ and racial slurs, death threats… all of this off of a nine-second video,” she said.
Tucker and her parents were upset with Everett and the IC Norcum head coach as they didn’t apologize or approach the injured runner after the race.
“They were beside us at the event. They were watching the video at the event, but no one apologized or came to check on her,” the Tucker’s parents told WSLS. “Even if it was a fluke or freak accident, you still would check on her.”
The Tuckers served Everett and her family with court papers requesting a protective order, according to WAVY.
The incident culminated with IC Norcum being disqualified from the race.
