The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) placed Lutheran High School on athletic probation Thursday and warned the Parker school it faces suspension, after determining that racist and discriminatory language occurred at its athletic events.
The state’s governing body for high school sports issued Lutheran a formal notice of possible membership suspension and placed its athletic department on probation for at least 12 months, effective immediately, according to a statement from the association.
CHSAA said every member school answers for the people in its stands.
“Racism and discrimination have no place in our schools or at our events,” the association said. “CHSAA takes sportsmanship, crowd control and the treatment of every participant at our events seriously, and every member school is responsible for the conduct of its coaches, players and spectators.”
The governing body said its finding rested on a review of documentation, official game reports, and first-hand accounts that member schools gathered from their students and communities. Lutheran must now complete a Corrective Action Plan covering game management, spectator conduct, staff training, and school culture, and its leadership must appear before the CHSAA Board of Directors. If the school falls short, the association said it will recommend the board suspend Lutheran’s membership.
The allegations originated at a Sept. 24 game at Lutheran, where Sand Creek High School parent Taura Williams said she reported the behavior to a Lutheran representative mid-game and that no action followed. Her daughter, cheerleader Laila Bryant, said she felt unsafe inside the opposing student section. A second school, Rampart, brought similar claims after an Oct. 2 game.
Executive Director Dan Gehrke condemned racism but said CHSAA moved before the school finished its own inquiry.
“Lutheran High School condemns racism in any form, and we will complete every requirement CHSAA has set. We are disappointed that CHSAA reached its determination before our own review is complete and before it could consider our findings,” Gehrke wrote in a letter to parents.
The executive director has disputed parts of the allegations, telling families in an earlier message that the students questioned over the Rampart incident were not enrolled at Lutheran.
Two opponents, Air Academy and Coronado, have forfeited their games against the school. Palmer Ridge, ranked sixth in Colorado at 7-0, said it will play its Oct. 30 finale at Lutheran anyway.
The probation follows weeks of pressure from the Douglas County and Colorado Springs NAACP branches and Parker Mayor Joshua Rivero, who said he was “deeply troubled” by the reports.
State athletic associations have drawn scrutiny before for sanctioning faith-based schools, including Vermont’s Mid Vermont Christian School, which a federal appeals court reinstated in September 2025 after the Vermont Principals’ Association expelled it from state sports.
The penalty drew pushback online, where X users questioned the association’s credibility and the strength of the allegations against Lutheran.