Covington Catholic High School Investigation: We Have Investigated Ourselves And Find We Did Nothing Wrong

Nick Sandmann and Nathan Phillips 

An investigation commissioned by the Covington Catholic Diocese reports no evidence of racism by the students of Covington Catholic High School during the now-infamous incident at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2019.

The encounter went viral after video of a male high school student appearing to smirk at a Native American elder was shared across social media platforms.

From The Washington Post:

A short video clip showed Nathan Phillips, playing a traditional drum, in an apparent standoff with student Nick Sandmann, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. The Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School, which arranged the trip, were among those who initially condemned the boys’ actions in the video.

The report, prepared by Greater Cincinnati Investigation, Inc. and dated Feb. 11, employed four licensed investigators for approximately 240 hours to take statements from students and chaperones, as well as to interview third-party witnesses and review about 50 hours of video. Investigators were not able to interview either Phillips or Sandmann in person and instead reviewed the student’s written account.

The investigators said they found no evidence that the students responded in an offensive manner to the black Hebrew Israelites or that they chanted “build the wall.” After asking chaperones, they performed a school cheer, according to the report, to drown out the black Hebrew Israelites.

Other key findings include testimony that the students felt “confused” when Phillips approached them. Investigators said they found no evidence of “racist or offensive statements by students to Mr. Phillips,” though some performed a “tomahawk chop.”

We have investigated ourselves and we find we are innocent.

It's notable that neither Sandmann nor Phillips was interviewed by the investigators.

To this day, I don't know that everyone was talking about being upset about the same thing.

Were people angry the kid seemed disrespectful?

Were people angry the Native American elder seemed aggressive?

Was this about a young man trying to show his buddies he was 'tough' and wouldn't back down?

I don't know.

I know, from my perspective, I saw a young man being rude and condescending to a senior citizen.

I wasn't seeing a racial issue, I just saw a kid who was mocking a senior, thinking he was being 'funny.'

I watched all of the video out there. I don't know if someone wants to assign 'blame' about the incident even occurring, but nothing has convinced me the kid wasn't just being a little punk.

You can find the report here.