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Former Myers Park HS 'Dream Team' members call photo controversy 'ridiculous'

By Elsa Gillis and Liz Foster
By Elsa Gillis and Liz Foster

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Photographs of the Myers Park High School Dream Team are fueling a firestorm on social media.

People have posted on Facebook that they are upset there is not a single minority on the team made up of top student-athletes who act as role models in the district.

The original post has since been taken down but that's causing even more controversy.

Charlotte resident Melody Gross said she saw the photos and they upset her.

“It’s a little insensitive for so many different reasons,” Gross said.

The photos introduced the school's Dream Team.

The Dream Team is a statewide leadership program where student-athletes pledge to be drug-free and lead an awareness campaign, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Gross said the concept is wonderful, but the lack of diversity in this year's team is a major concern.

Myers Park is one of the biggest high schools in the state, with nearly 3,000 students.

White students comprise 61.5 percent of the student body, with minorities making up the other 38.5 percent.

"Our community is not solely white. It’s not solely black. It's black and Latinos and all of that, and so Myers Park should reflect that,” Gross said. “Its dream team should reflect that."

Alongside each student’s photo was a slogan.

One read, "I run from the competition, not the cops" and another read, “I help athletes heal instead of making drug deals."

"Some of the messaging (were) very culturally insensitive and (in)sensitive to those with addiction,” Gross said. “You can't sum up addiction in six words."

Gross wasn't the only one with concerns. The Myers Park High post has since been taken down and replaced by another one that says in part:

"The campaign effort was not intended to create negative feelings or divisiveness,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said in a statement. “When it was viewed in that context, it was more important to remove the post, than further a spirit of divisiveness."

That statement didn't sit well with Gross.

"Why wasn't this a diverse Dream Team in the first place?" one Facebook post said.

Gross said she hopes the issue will spark a conversation across Charlotte.

“I hope that they take this as a learning opportunity,” she said. “There's a lesson that can be learned from here."

Former Dream Team members speak out over controversy

Channel 9 has also seen comments on Facebook and messages to the newsroom that in the past the Dream Team has been diverse.

Former students and Dream Team members called the controversy ridiculous and disheartening. They said race is never a factor.

"I think it's completely unfair and I think it's a little ridiculous," said former Dream Team member Emory Moore.

Former group members said the team goes above and beyond to reach the whole student body. They said students are chosen after a comprehensive process that includes an essay, interviews, recommendation and grades and it comes down to an applicant's total score.

"I think they're uneducated about it because we gave the whole student body a chance to apply," said another former member Bree Rockingham.

"I think many people looked at the color of the skin of the current, or upcoming Dream Team members, rather than the content of their character; without any knowledge of the application process, or how vetting works and who applied," said former Dream Team member Keenan Caddell.

The Dream Team started eight years ago at Butler High school in Matthews.

A number of CMS schools have been part of it for the past three years.

Channel 9 anchor Liz Foster reached out to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to ask who applied to be a part of this year's program. A spokesperson said it would be difficult to get the breakdown and answers to Foster's questions because of the summer break.

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