The grounds of a new Hamilton high school named in memory of a trail-blazing black athlete and educator were defaced with a racist epithet Tuesday.

The word was carved in fresh snow in large letters on the property of Bernie Custis Secondary School on King Street East, across from Tim Hortons Field.

Before it was erased in the afternoon the hateful slur was visible through windows of the three-storey school, and even at a distance from the press box in the football stadium.

Two student "perpetrators" have been identified by school officials, according to an email to The Spectator from Shawn McKillop, a public school board spokesperson. The incident was reported to Hamilton police, who are investigating.

Suspensions or expulsion are possible school punishments for the students.

A letter about the incident was posted on the Bernie Custis website.

The school is named after the Hamilton Ticats great of the 1950s, considered the first black athlete to play quarterback in professional football — a cerebral position long tainted by racist notions of what colour athlete is best suited to it.

Sue Dunlop, the superintendent responsible for the school, said in a statement that "acts of racism are condemned in our schools and this is being treated as an incident of hate. The word was immediately removed as soon as it was reported to the school."

Custis, who was born in Philadelphia, was also a local educator, principal, and coach for more than 30 years who championed breaking down racial barriers. In the 1980s he coached McMaster University's football team. He died in 2017 at 88.

The $32-million school with a capacity for 1,250 students opened in September, built on the former site of Scott Park Secondary School, and is home to students who previously attended Delta and Sir John A. Macdonald high schools.

A Statistics Canada report three months ago indicated that hate crimes are reported more frequently in Hamilton relative to other Canadian cities. It reported that in 2018 the Hamilton/Burlington/Grimsby area recorded 97 police-reported hate crimes, or a rate of 17.1 incidents per 100,000 population, more than three times the national average.

Hamilton police say graffiti is the most common form of reported hate crime in the city, such as the Nazi swastika.

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jwells@thespec.com

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