Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good – maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2019

The New York Times reports:

The school last faced negative scrutiny a month ago, when a 2018 graduate and basketball star, the son of a former Cincinnati Bengals player, was charged with sodomy and rape.

This also is not the first time the greater Cincinnati area’s male Catholic school community has had to grapple with allegations of racism. Last winter, young men from Elder High chanted “P.F. Chang” and “‘Hey No. 2, open your eyes” at a multiracial Asian player from St. Xavier, perhaps the most prestigious of the all-male Catholic high schools in the region. An African-American player on the team was also taunted.

And at Covington, racism has been on open display:

VIDEO: https://t.co/pFgrJA1N0Q From :06 to 1:06 you can see a teacher or coach of #CovingtonCatholic leading the teens in a chant– several of the Covington students are in blackface. At this game, black players on the opposing team were verbally abused. pic.twitter.com/gqyNRUjYXD

— Marcus Henry Weber (@MarcusHWeber) January 21, 2019

Snopes has verified that this picture does indeed show a Covington Catholic High School basketball game.