Runner Bashed Opponent Over the Head Then Played the Victim, But a Lip Reader's Assessment Says Something Else

A high school track athlete in Virginia is facing charges after allegedly striking a competitor with a relay baton during a race last week.

Alaila Everett has been charged with one count of assault and battery after a widely shared video captured her hitting Kaelen Tucker with the baton, causing her to fall, according to WTKR-TV.

Everett has maintained that the incident, which took place during the 4×200 meter event at the Virginia state championship, was unintentional.

"She was touching me to the point where I was pumping my arm, and the baton was hitting her arm," Everett explained, as reported by WTKR-TV.

"I lose my balance—my whole body turns, and then I pump my arms, so she got hit."

However, Nicola Hickling, founder of the lip reading transcription service LipReader, told the U.K. Daily Mail that Everett was heard shouting "get off" and "hey oh" after striking Tucker with the baton.

Hickling stated that she reviewed multiple videos of the incident before reaching her conclusion.

Meanwhile, Everett has said that she has experienced racism in the aftermath of the viral footage.

"Nobody is going to believe me because I can admit from the video it does look purposeful. But I know my intentions and I would never hit anybody on purpose," she told WSET-TV.

"After a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this, and it rolled up her back. I lost my balance and, when I pumped my arms again, she got hit," Everett stated.

"They are assuming my character, calling me ghetto and racial slurs, death threats," she added. "All of this off of a nine-second video."

Everett also urged people to consider the impact on her mental health.

I.C. Norcom High School, where Everett is a student, saw their relay team disqualified from the competition for "contact interference."

Tucker, on the other hand, told WSET-TV that she is "still trying to take it all in" and "can’t believe it happened."

She is currently being treated for a concussion and a possible skull fracture.

"Why did you do it, and why haven’t you apologized?" Tucker questioned.

Her mother, Tamarrow Tucker, noted that neither Everett nor the Norcom High School coaches reached out to apologize or provide an explanation while her daughter was receiving medical care at the event.

"No apologies. No coaches. No athlete. No anything," the mother said.

"Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe it was … nothing."