The high school track athlete who went viral for striking her opponent in the head with a baton at the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 State Indoor Championships has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
In the days following the incident, the victim, Brookville High School’s Kaelen Tucker and her family did not state whether they would press charges. However, Alaila Everett of I.C. Norcom High School never apologized to Tucker, continuing to insist that the strike to her head was an accident.
Everett told 3WTKR, “She was touching me to the point where I was pumping my arm, and the baton was hitting her arm. I lose my balance—my whole body turns, and then I pump my arms, so she got hit.”
Related: Investigation Opened Into HS Track Athlete Who Bludgeoned Competitor with Relay Baton
With no apology in sight, the Tuckers moved forward and charges were filed on Wednesday. A court date has not yet been set.
A USATF official, Virginia Davis, told 3WTKR, “I think it’s tragic. They bumped into each other. Whether you think what they did was correct or not, they’re still high school students.”
The VHSL is continuing to investigate the incident. In a statement, the group said, “The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.”
Everett shared in several interviews that in the wake of the incident she has received threats online. “They are assuming my character, calling me ghetto and racial slurs, death threats… all of this off of a nine-second video.”
Just before the misdemeanor assault and battery charge were announced, the Virginia NAACP released a statement on behalf of Everett. It read, “We understand the sensitivity of the circumstances for both athletes and their families involved but this narrative must not go unaddressed. Alaila is an honor student and a star athlete at the historic I.C. Norcom High School. From all accounts, she is an exceptional young leader and scholar whose athletic talent has been well documented and recognized across our state. She has carried herself with integrity both on and off the field and any narrative that adjudicates her guilty of any criminal activity is a violation of her due process rights.”
