STURGIS, S.D. (KELO.com and KWSN) -- A racially inflammatory slogan painted on an old car by some students at Sturgis Brown High School has canceled the Scoopers' homecoming football game with Pine Ridge.
After meeting in executive session Thursday after school, the Mead School Board voted 8-0 in favor of calling off the game. The board also reportedly discussed changing the venue of the game and playing the game without fans.
Sturgis Brown Principal Pete Wilson is making a state wide apology.
"We're going to apologize to every school district in the state, because this not only looks bad for Sturgis Brown High School, this looks bad for South Dakota."
The kids painted the words 'Go Back To The Rez' on the car before smashing it with sledge hammers in an unofficial homecoming stunt.
Matt Kerney covers high school football in the Black Hills, he called the whole incident shocking. "I was disgusted. I have no words, I was just shocked." He agreed with the school board's decision to forfeit the game to Pine Ridge, saying it was a case of a few bad apples ruining the pie for the whole town.
It's not uncommon for schools to sponsor some sort of "Car Smash" event as a fundraiser during homecoming week. In those cases, students will pay a dollar or two to take a swing at an old car painted in the opposing school's colors. Busting one of the windows will typically cost more.
Backlash from the pictures of the event has been felt all over social media. Even those at the SDHSAA office in Pierre have taken complaints against the student's actions.
The game will official go down as a 2-0 win for Pine Ridge. The status of Sturgis' season finale against Hot Springs is up in the air as well.
(Francie Ganje, Home Slice Media Group, and KWSN's Mike Leischner contributed to this story)