A Virginia high school track and field star was hoping to garner a medal at a recent race, but walked away with an assault and battery charge.
Alaila Everett, a student at I.C. Norcom High School, was charged with one misdemeanor count of assault and battery, Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Office said to Fox News Digital.
The charges stem from a championship meet March 4 when Everett’s baton hit Kaelen Tucker on the head while they were running the 4×200 relay race.
Tucker, a junior at Brookville High School, suffered a concussion and possible skull fracture.
The incident was captured on video and subsequently went viral with heavy backlash toward Everett.
While Tucker’s family was reticent in stating whether it would press charges, charges have now been pressed.
Everett claims the hits were not intentional, per an interview with “Good Morning America.”
The Portsmouth NAACP released a statement Wednesday defending the teen.
“Alaila is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful. We understand the sensitivity of the circumstances for both athletes and their families involved but this narrative must not go unaddressed,” the statement read.
“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,” the statement continued.
Everett said she lost her balance and her baton got “stuck” behind Tucker’s back.
“After a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this, and it rolled up her back. I lost my balance when I pumped my arms again. She got hit,” Everett told WAVY. “I know my intentions and I would never hit someone on purpose.”
Everett also said that while she caused physical pain for Tucker, there is not enough empathy for Everett’s own “mental” impact.
“Everybody has feelings, so you’re physically hurt, but you’re not thinking of my mental,” Everett said. “They are assuming my character, calling me ghetto and racial slurs, death threats… all of this off of a nine-second video.”
During an interview with “Good Morning America” Wednesday, Everett and her family showed a different angle of the video. They re-enacted what happened in an effort to prove it was an accident.
“Her arm was literally hitting the baton like this until she got a little ahead and my arm got stuck like this,” Everett said.
