After a high school track meet ended with one athlete suffering a concussion and a possible skull fracture from a baton strike, the story quickly went viral. Now, the runner involved in the incident, Alaila Everett, is facing a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery.
The incident, which happened on March 4, at the Virginia State High School League (VHSL) Championships at Liberty University, involved two runners: Everett, a senior from I.C. Norcom High School, and Kaelen Tucker, a junior from Brookville High School.
What Happened
The tension started during the 4x200m relay.
As Everett and Tucker raced side by side around a curve, Everett’s baton hit Tucker in the head. The impact sent Tucker staggering off the track, clutching her head in pain. She later learned she had a concussion and possibly even a skull fracture.
Meanwhile, Everett kept running, handing off the baton to her teammate.
At first glance, the viral video of the moment seems clear-cut: Everett appears to wind up and swing her baton at Tucker.
But Everett insists it was an accident.
She explained that the two were so close together that her baton kept hitting Tucker’s arm. Eventually, she says, her arm got stuck behind Tucker’s back, and as she tried to regain her balance, the baton struck Tucker’s head.
Tucker and her family were in disbelief. “I didn’t know what happened. I was just in shock,” Tucker said.
Her mother, Tamarro Tucker, was outraged, especially because no one from Everett’s school initially reached out. “No apologies. No coaches. No athlete. Nothing. Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe it was… nothing.”
However, Everett’s father and the Norcom athletic director later apologized.
Everett has been adamant that she would never intentionally hurt someone. “That’s not in my character,” she said in an emotional interview with Good Morning America. She said she even tried to message Tucker on social media to apologize, but found that she had been blocked.
While Tucker and her family believe the act was deliberate, Everett and her supporters see it differently. “Nobody else wanted to hear my story except for the people that know me, and people that know I would never do anything like that,” Everett said, breaking down in tears during a rally held in her support.
Legal Troubles
The fallout from the incident escalated quickly.
On March 13, Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Bethany Harrison announced that Everett would be charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. Meanwhile, the Virginia High School League supported the race officials’ decision to disqualify Everett and her team but said they were still reviewing the incident.
The public reaction has been intense. Everett has faced racial slurs, online harassment, and even death threats.
The Portsmouth NAACP stepped in to support her, stating, “From all accounts, she is an exceptional young leader and scholar whose athletic talent has been well documented. Any narrative that adjudicates her guilty of any criminal activity is a violation of her due process rights.”
The day after the charge was announced, Everett’s school community rallied behind her. Dozens of students, teachers, and local activists gathered outside I.C. Norcom High School.
Everett, overwhelmed with emotion, thanked the crowd through tears. “I love y’all,” she said. “I would never harm anybody. I’m not a fighter. I wouldn’t even do that on purpose.”
James Boyd, President of the Portsmouth NAACP, also spoke at the rally, condemning the harassment Everett has endured. “The Everett family has experienced racial slurs and death threats, and we think unequivocally that those things are unacceptable.”
Community activist Germain Green also urged people to hold off on judgment. “It bothered me to my heart to see how the whole world was dragging this young lady based on what they thought they saw. I just wanted to step up, speak out, and bring unity.”
She is lying and has no shame!? The video is irrefutable but she says “it was an accident” and her family is putting on puppy dog eyes. Unreal.