The Santa Fe Indian School boys basketball team with former head coach Ceci Moses. Photo by Alyssa Roanhorse‎ via Santa Fe Indian School Sports Fan Page / Facebook

Two basketball coaches at Santa Fe Indian School in New Mexico were fired after a confrontation at a game last week

Former head boys basketball coach Ceci Moses and her husband, former assistant coach Rick Schimmel, accused staff from St. Michael's High School of making race-related comments about Native Americans at a February 17 away game.

"Manning told our players to ‘get off the court this isn’t a damn reservation.’ Tom Manning then allowed his brother to call Native American people ‘prairie n******,'" Schimmel said in a statement to The Santa Fe New Mexican. Tom Manning is the athletic director at St. Michael's.

"As a result of what Manning did we are losing our jobs," Schimmel said.

“Protecting my team, reporting a wrongful incident is my job,' Moses added. "If being fair is wrong, then crucify me.”

St. Michael's has denied the allegations and Santa Fe Indian School initially said Moses and Schimmel were fired for "unsportsmanlike" behavior, The New Mexican reported. But a second press release said the school was investigating the "alleged racial slurs" at the game.

"The Santa Fe Indian School does not condone discriminatory acts to or from our athletes, staff, parents, or community and we expect the same of others," the press release read.

After the incident, Moses and Schimmel showed up to a home game on Tuesday during which their two sons, who attend the Indian School, did not play, The New Mexican reported. Schimmel wore a t-shirt that read: "Natives are not prairie [expletive deleted]” on the front and “All land is native land, even ‘your’ court” on the back, the paper said.

Moses and Schimmel are the parents of basketball stars Shoni Schimmel and Jude Schimmel. Moses is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Santa Fe Indian School is part of the Bureau of Indian Education system.

Get the Story:
Santa Fe Indian School fires coaches after courtside clash (The Santa Fe New Mexican 2/24)
Santa Fe Indian School coaches say they were fired for responding to alleged racist remarks from St. Michael's admin (KOB 2/24)
St. Michael’s denies athletic director made racial slur (The Santa Fe New Mexican 2/25)
Santa Fe Indian School fires hoops coaches after racially charged incident (The Albuquerque Journal 2/25)
Coaches: Racial remarks fuel New Mexico basketball spat (AP 2/26)