Central Catholic High School's varsity baseball team is suddenly at the center of a controversy after a player used what the school called "racial hate speech" during a pre-game cheer. The remark was serious enough that the team halted play, the school shifted into short-term remote learning, and players were brought on stage to publicly apologize to classmates at an April 17 school-wide assembly. The incident has triggered an internal review, at least one forfeit, and renewed scrutiny of how race and discipline are handled on the Portland campus.
School response and internal review
According to KATU, school officials launched an internal review almost immediately after they learned about the pre-game cheer. Jeanie-Marie Price, the school's director of marketing and communications, told the station that members of the baseball team stood before the community at the April 17 assembly to apologize.
Price described the language as "hateful and does not bear repeating" and said Central Catholic is working to "eradicate it from our school community." In other words, administrators are signaling that they see this as a deeper cultural problem to address, not just a single bad moment in the dugout.
Games paused and schedule
The fallout hit the schedule quickly. Central Catholic forfeited its matchup with Sam Barlow on April 16, and players chose to forfeit the April 17 game as well. The team was then slated to get back on the field Tuesday in a home game against Clackamas, listed on MaxPreps with a 5 p.m. first pitch at Central Catholic's home field.
Digital learning days
The impact did not stop with the baseball program. Price said the school moved to remote learning for Monday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 21 so faculty and staff could be "better prepared to respond to our students' needs," according to KATU. In messages to families, the shift was described as being made "out of an abundance of care for all of our students." A couple of days online, in other words, to regroup and figure out how to talk about what happened.
Why this matters in Portland
According to Central Catholic High School, the school has a sizable student body and a long-standing athletics tradition, so turmoil on a marquee team tends to ripple through the wider community. This latest controversy is landing in a city where Catholic schools have already been under the microscope over race and discipline.
In a 2025 report, KPTV highlighted parents who said a previous incident involving a racial slur at a Portland-area Catholic school ended with their son expelled and police called. Episodes like that have left some families and alumni watching this newest review closely, wary of both underreaction and overcorrection.
Central Catholic officials said they are "especially mindful of the harm this has caused to our Black students, families, and community members" and have pledged to take steps toward care and accountability. For now, the baseball team is scheduled to resume play while the internal review continues and families wait to see what concrete changes, if any, follow the apology on stage.
