High school says tweet about shanks was a misunderstanding

NEPTUNE, N.J. – A New Jersey high school official says a tweet urging girls’ soccer players to bring shanks to a game against a school with many black and Hispanic students was a misunderstanding.

The tweet before the St. John Vianney High School game read: “Everyone come support the home team @ 10:00 for our first scrimmage vs Neptune! #bringyourshanks.”

The tweet has since been deleted, but not before Neptune High School parents took to social media to express their anger and offence.

The athletic director at St. John Vianney in Holmdel says he’s sorry about what happened.

Richard Lamberson tells the Asbury Park Press the hashtag was referring to a soccer term, not a makeshift knife used by prison inmates. He notes the tweet came from an account that wasn’t school sanctioned.

___

This story has been corrected to show the name of the newspaper is the Asbury Park Press, not the Ashbury Park Press.

___

Information from: Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, http://www.app.com