Texas students flash 'White Power' signs during basketball game against rival high school

Students, parents and school officials are at odds over a racial incident at a high school basketball game in Flower Mound, Texas on Friday night.

According to WFAA Channel 8, the game was between Flower Mound High School and Plano East High.

During the game, students in the home team Flower Mound's cheering section held up signs that said "White Power." They were caught on camera and the image went viral on the social medium Twitter.

A Plano East athlete who asked that Channel 8 not use his name said, "We thought it was racist. It said 'white power,' and we were shocked."

Deanna Thompson, the parent of one Plano East student, said, "It's just so sad that kids have to take it to that level."

Witnesses at the game said that the signs were up for about 30 seconds before school officials were able to take them down.

Head Flower Mound basketball coach Eric Littleton condemned the students' actions, tweeting, "Unacceptable. As head coach at FMHS I offer our full voice apology. I will pursue this fully. No place for this."

However, a Flower Mound student who spoke with Channel 8 defended the signs, saying that the word "white" referred to Flower Mound's blue and white team colors and the sign was part of a cheer routine. The student also denied reports that students from Flower Mound had defecated and urinated on the Plano East team's bus.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Lewisville Independent School District. Acting Superintendent Dr. Kevin Rogers said in a statement on Tuesday, "(T)he investigation of this occurrence is still underway, and we fully intend to act on our findings. We regret that this unfortunate event has been elevated to this level on so many social media circles."

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Ed. Note: An earlier draft of this story mistakenly said that Flower Mound High School was located in Lewisville, TX and that Plano East was a mostly-black high school. However, FMHS is located in Flower Mound, TX but in the Lewisville Independent School District. The Dallas Morning Newsnoted that "Flower Mound is 83.9 percent white, while Plano is 66.9 percent white." Raw Story regrets the error.