Marissa Johnson
O’odham Action News
marissa.johnson2@srpmic-nsn.gov
On October 22, 2019, the girls’ volleyball game between Caurus Academy in Anthem and Salt River High School was halted during the beginning of the fourth set due to racial gestures and slurs aimed against the SRHS team.
The incident gained a lot of social media attention. Support poured in for the girls, including from actor Zach Galifianakis who appeared in The Hangover, donated $5,000 to SRHS after learning about the incident.
Volleyball coach Kyronna Roanhorse spoke of the unexpected kindness. “It kind of came out of the blue,” said Roanhorse. “I was very happy for the school receiving a big donation from somebody that just heard about our story, and months later they’re still willing to help us out any way that they could. I know the girls go through a lot of stuff on a day-to-day basis. [They have] something to be thankful for, knowing that our story was heard by everybody around the world. That donation was truly a blessing.”
To thank Galifianakis for his generosity, the girls’ volleyball team held up a banner with his name on it with the Salt River chant “Be Bold, Be Brave, Be Ba’ag.” The money from the donation will be used to buy special shirts for students and staff.
