Eagle Soccer Coach Receives Racist Letter

A local soccer coach is fighting back despite receiving an anonymous letter warning him to "be careful." According to the Idaho Statesman, Jeromy Tarkon, coach of the youth soccer team 'Idaho Juniors Futbol Club', found the letter on the windshield of his jeep in his driveway.

The letter contained racial slurs and instructed Tarkon to either quit or "be careful". His first reaction was to just ignore the letter, but after consulting with other coaches, and "watching his players receive racial slurs for years," the president of the club went public. According to the Statesman, the club is composed of about 60 boys, with 75 percent of them coming from ethnic minorities.

Eagle Police is asking anyone with information to contact them, as they're investigating the letter as malicious harassment. In Idaho, the hate crime law "includes harassment based on a person's race, ancestry or national origin, and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine."

Coach Tarkon (who is white by the way), said that having the letter delivered at his home is what made it an issue. He posted the full letter on the club's Facebook page saying:

This letter is very disturbing. It's not for sensitive eyes. But we need to be aware of what is happening in our community so we can rally around each other and fight this hate. After a ton of thought, we have decided to go public and fight back against hate and racism. Being quiet is not the answer.

Unfortunately, this is a disappointing reality in our community, and I hope that by sharing this letter and fighting against the hate, these types of incidents cease to happen!