Teen track runner who bashed opponent's head rallies supporters in Virginia after getting assault charge

The Virginia teen who was seen bashing an opponent's caput with a baton during a precocious schoolhouse way conscionable held a rally of supporters connected Thursday to reiterate her innocence. 

The rally came conscionable 1 time aft she was served with a misdemeanor artillery and battle charge. 

The student, Alaila Everett, held the rally extracurricular of her school, I.C. Norcom High School, successful Portsmouth, Virginia. Dozens of individuals were seen attending the rally, arsenic Everette delivered a tearful speech, wherever she thanked her supporters portion sobbing. 

"Thank y'all for supporting me," Everett said to the supporters, arsenic seen successful footage by section Virginia quality presumption WAVY. "There's nary 1 other that wanted to perceive my story, but the radical that cognize maine and radical that cognize I would ne'er bash thing similar that, I would ne'er harm anybody. I'm not a fighter, I'm not adjacent confrontational, I wouldn't adjacent bash that connected purpose, and I convey y'all for believing successful me. I emotion y'all."

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Everett's code was met with large applause and a chant of "We basal with you."

Portsmouth NAACP President James Boyd besides spoke astatine the rally, alleging threats and slurs that person been directed astatine Everett's family.

"The Everett household has experienced radical slurs, they’ve experienced decease threats, and we deliberation unequivocally that those things are unacceptable," Boyd said.

Local assemblage activistic Germain Green called for unity from the assemblage successful enactment of the teenager. 

"It bothered maine to my bosom to spot however the full satellite was dragging this young lady, dragging her quality based connected what they thought they saw. I conscionable wanted to measurement up, talk out, and bring unity and fto this young woman cognize that the metropolis of Portsmouth has her back," Green said. 

Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Office confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that 1 misdemeanor complaint of battle and artillery jad been filed implicit the incident. 

The incidental occurred past Tuesday during a title meet, arsenic footage showed Everett smashing her baton onto the caput of Brookville High School inferior Kaelen Tucker during a relay race. Everett and her full squad were disqualified.

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A baton is handed disconnected successful a 4x100 metre relay race. (MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press / USA Today Network)

Tucker was aboriginal diagnosed with a concussion and imaginable skull fracture, arsenic footage of the incidental went viral. 

Everett has since said the hits were accidental, successful interviews with WAVY and "Good Morning America." 

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) antecedently issued a connection to Fox News Digital connected the matter. 

"The VHSL does not remark connected individuals oregon disciplinary actions owed to FERPA," the league's connection read. "The actions taken by the conscionable manager to disqualify the runner were due and correct. We thoroughly reappraisal each lawsuit similar this that involves subordinate information with the participating schools. The VHSL rank has ever made it a precedence to supply student-athletes with a harmless situation for competition."

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the Portsmouth Public School District for remark from the Everett family.

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A baton held by Kiersten Duncan of LSU successful the starting blocks of the women's sprint medley relay successful the 87th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays astatine Mike A. Myers Stadium. (Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports)

Prior to the misdemeanor charges being announced connected Everett, the Portsmouth NAACP released a connection defending the embattled teen connected Wednesday. 

"Alaila is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that successful immoderate mode is shameful. We recognize the sensitivity of the circumstances for some athletes and their families progressive but this communicative indispensable not spell unaddressed," the connection read.  

"Alaila is an grant pupil and a prima jock astatine the historical I.C. Norcom High School. From each accounts, she is an exceptional young person and student whose diversion endowment has been good documented and recognized crossed our state. She has carried herself with integrity some connected and disconnected the tract and immoderate communicative that adjudicates her blameworthy of immoderate transgression enactment is simply a usurpation of her owed process rights."

Fox News Digital's Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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