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(Earlham, IA) -- Earlham's homecoming king and varsity quarterback was allegedly the target of racial slurs by opponents during Earlham's homecoming game Friday night.
Darrell Matchem, who is Black, was allegedly called the "n-word" by Southwest Valley High School players during the game.
“You could hear them talking about Darrell, which made everyone on our team very unhappy,” said teammate Kolby Sinclair. “All I heard was the ‘n-word.’ It was very loud, I could hear it from our sideline.”
Matchem was ejected from the game after yelling back at the source of the slurs. Sinclair tells WHO 13 News tells WHO 13 News the team understands why he acted that way, knowing what they said to him.
Matchem's younger brother, Liam Ireland, says Darrell has been acting very different at home since the game.
Liam said, “He was crying, bawling his eyes out, he wouldn’t even come out of his room to eat. He usually plays football with me every day, but then he said, ‘I don’t feel like it.'”
Earlham and Southwest Valley superintendents announced the schools are investigating the incident and the accusations of inappropriate fan behavior following the game.