Students punished for spelling 'rape' on painted chests at school football match
Four high school students have been "punished" for spelling the word “rape” with letters spray painted on their chests.
The photo of the four shirtless men was shared online after they attended the Westside High School football game during the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night in South Carolina.
The photo was initially shared on Snapchat, captioned "This is what we do to Daniel" - the opposing high school football team.
Director of External Affairs for the school district, Kyle Newton, said there is "no place in any school or any community for those types of actions".
“At best, what they did was offensive, at worst it could be traumatic for those who have suffered sexual assault,” Newton told CNN.
Newton was quick to clarrify that the students were in fact part of a larger group who had spelled out the words "bump cancer on their chests.
"[The students] essentially started playing scrabble," he explained.
Anderson 5 Citizens for Quality Education, described as a “non-partisan group of concerned parents, students, and citizens” denounced the act all the same.
“The juxtaposition of a violent message with the breast cancer awareness symbology is of particular concern," the caption read.
"The assumption these young men seem to have made is that their position and privilege allows them to make ‘jokes’ about rape as a viable threat.”
Mr Newton said the students would be "punished" but not expelled.
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