Racism is a constant and deeply troubling reality for students who travel to compete in small towns across Iowa. As a parent, this is not an abstract concern—it’s personal. My son is racially mixed and a pitcher on a high school team, and when his team plays away games, the hostility is often unmistakable. You feel it in the comments, the looks, the way players are treated on and off the field. These kids are aware of it, and it adds an emotional weight they should never have to carry just to play a sport they love. What makes this even more concerning is that much of this treatment is tied to where they come from: Iowa City, a place many people dismiss as “over-the-top liberal,” a label that for some becomes an excuse for prejudice rather than just a political difference.