San Francisco officials are refusing to answer questions about why Lowell High School’s varsity baseball team was allowed to play in the city championship game three days after members of the team allegedly made a racist taunt at the city’s junior varsity title game.

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Lowell’s entire varsity coaching staff was placed on indefinite leave over the taunt. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) The San Francisco Unified School District is investigating the taunt, but in response to an SFGATE inquiry, district spokesperson Laura Dudnick said all coaches will be “relieved of their coaching duties” pending the results. Beyond that?

“We are not able to share additional details given our obligation to protect student privacy,” Dudnick wrote to SFGATE. “… This is the only information we can share right now.”

But SFGATE found video of the taunt, which occurred on May 15, when Lowell and Lincoln played in the San Francisco Section JV championship. Lowell varsity players were in attendance for that game, as were the coaches, to support their fellow baseball players.

In the top of the seventh inning, Lowell was leading 5-4 with Lincoln at bat when the racist taunt was allegedly used. Nothing stopped the game at the time, during which Lincoln came back to tie the game in the seventh inning and won the game in the eighth inning, 10-5. But according to both the Chronicle’s report and an eyewitness on Reddit, the taunts were made by varsity players from Lowell.

Three days later, the Lowell varsity team played against Lincoln in the San Francisco Section’s varsity championship game, which was held at Oracle Park. It was the third straight year for the two schools meeting in the city title game, with Lowell winning in 2024 and Lincoln winning in 2025. In this proverbial rubber match on May 18, Lowell won 2-1, taking home the city crown and earning a spot in the regional tournament, which is expected to start next week. Lowell’s head coach Michael Sera was in the dugout for that title game.

It was only four days later that Lowell Principal Jan Bautista sent a letter to the students and families of the varsity baseball team, with language mirroring what Dudnick sent to SFGATE via email on Tuesday. Dudnick’s statement also praised the school.

“Discriminatory behavior and hate speech have no place in our schools or athletic settings,” Dudnick’s statement read. “We take our responsibility to support anyone impacted by these actions very seriously, and their well-being remains our top priority. We appreciate the school leadership’s prompt action and their recognition of the seriousness and urgency of this matter.”

But questions remain about why Lowell was allowed to play in Monday’s championship game at all, particularly since Friday’s JV championship was a district-run title game. It’s not known what, if any, disciplinary actions were taken on the day of the game, and the alleged taunt. In addition, the school and SFUSD have not answered why Lowell’s players and coaches were allowed to play in a key title game three days afterward. 

When reached by phone, the San Francisco Section, which oversees city high school championships, redirected all inquiries back to the main SFUSD communications office. Dudnick refused to answer any SFGATE follow-up questions on the topic, citing the district’s “obligation to protect student privacy.” She also did not answer whether the school’s JV team would be allowed to continue playing.

In her letter to the baseball students and families, Bautista said the school’s priority “remains supporting our students and ensuring they can continue to participate in the positive and rewarding experience that athletics provides.” To that end, she said the school will use the JV coaching staff to “possibly step in” if they continue their season.