Virginia girls high school track star charged with one count assault and battery after baton hitting incident

According to a report, Alaila Everett has been charged after hitting Kaelen Tucker in last week's VHSL track and field championships

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According to a WTKR News 3 report, I.C. Norcom High School girls track and field sprinter Alaila Everett has been charged with one count of assault and battery after hitting Brookville High School's Kaelen Tucker in the head with a baton at last week's Virginia High School League (VHSL) track and field state championships.

Girls high school track star gets bashed in the head with a baton at Virginia state championships

Per the report, Bethany Harrison, the commonwealth's attorney for Lynchburg said the baton hitting incident left Tucker with a concussion and possibly a fractured skull.

The Portsmouth NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) issued the following statement on Wednesday morning in defense of Everett:

"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. 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 welldocumented 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." - Portsmouth NAACP

Virginia high school track star says hitting opponent in the head with baton was an accident

On Monday, Everett spoke out regarding the incident in an emotional interview with WAVY TV 10.

“Nobody is going to believe me because I can admit from the video it does look purposeful. I know my intention is that I would never hit somebody on purpose. They’re going off of one angle,” Everett said in the interview.

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