"Her arm was literally hitting the baton"- Alaila Everett makes stance clear about controversy surrounding baton attack

At the VHSL Class 3 State Indoor Championships in Virginia, Alaila Everett hit competitor Kaelen Tucker on the head with a baton during a relay race. Tucker, who was trying to pass Everett, grabbed her head and left the track. Doctors later confirmed she had a concussion and possibly a skull fracture.

Everett is now facing assault and battery charges. She says it was an accident, her baton got stuck, and she lost her balance. Since then, people have sent her threats and racist messages.

According to the NY Post, a lip reader claimed Everett yelled 'Get off' before hitting the opponent. During an interview with ABC on March 12, Everett shared her side of the story. Collin Rugg shared the video of the runner on his X/Twitter along with a caption and transcript of the video. The caption read:

"NEW: Track runner who is accused of attacking another runner with a metal baton in the head goes on ABC, says she has new footage that proves she is innocent."

The runner said:

"I would never do that. That's not in my character." (0:10 onwards)

Alaila Everett continued:

"Her arm was literally hitting the baton until she got a little ahead, and my arm got stuck." (0:22 onwards)

After the incident, Alaila Everett spoke about the death threats and messages she had been receiving online.

Alaila Everett reflects on backlash and defends herself after track incident

European Athletics Indoor Championships - Day Three - Source: Getty

The incident occurred on March 4 when Alaila Everett hit Kaelen Tucker on the head with a baton. Following the incident, a video of the event emerged.

The video was shared by FearBuck on X/Twitter on March 10. Everett was seen crying in the video, saying it happened by mistake as she lost her balance.

Days after the incident, Alaila Everett revealed that she has been receiving death threats on the internet. She said:

“They are assuming my character, calling me ‘ghetto’ and racial slurs, death threats… all of this off of a nine-second video. I have plenty of people in my corner — teachers offering me a place to stay in their classroom if things get overwhelming, letting me stay in the gym, or even go to the principal’s office if it’s overwhelming. My community knows my character. They know I’m not like that… that it was an accident.” (Abc news via nypost.com)

Everett is currently a senior at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Virginia.