High Schoolers Paint 'Rape' On Chests At Football Game

Four high school students in South Carolina are under fire after spelling out the word “rape” on their chests during a football game. A picture circulating on social media showed four shirtless young men from Westside High School with the letters spelled in pink on their bodies.

The four students in the photo posted it to social media alongside the caption “What we do to Daniel,” apparently a reference to the opposing team. The photo was taken during a “Touchdown Against Cancer” game where other students had painted pink letters to rally against cancer, the Independent Mail reported.

“They have not been expelled, but they have been punished,” said Kyle Newton, director of external affairs for the district, according to the Independent Mail. “This is not acceptable anywhere and anytime. At best, this is offensive to just about anyone and at worst this is traumatic to some people.”

The photo was also posted on a Facebook page called “Anderson 5 Citizens for Quality Education,” where the picture was denounced. The post also asked others to contact school administrators and officials with their concerns about the picture.

“Using the threat of rape, even as an analogy, is not behavior that any school or any parent should (or hopefully would) condone,” the post read. “Rape culture in high school and college is a real threat to many students. The juxtaposition of a violent message with the breast cancer awareness symbology is of particular concern. The assumption these young men seem to have made is that their position and privilege allows them to make ‘jokes’ about rape as a viable threat.”

The students in the photo had their faces blurred out and the district would not identify them or state explicitly how they were punished, according to the Independent Mail.