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Track Runner Who Hit Opponent with Baton Holds Rally After Assault Charge

Yangoulin_Getty Images
Yangoulin/Getty Images

The Virginia high school track runner seen striking another runner in the head with a baton on a viral video, held a rally for supporters after being charged with assault and battery.

Alaila Everett of I.C. Norcom High School was seen striking fellow runner Kaelen Tucker in the head at the Virginia state championships earlier this month.

The blow sent Tucker crashing to the ground, clutching the back of her head. Later, she was diagnosed with a concussion and possible skull fracture.

Since the incident, Everett has vehemently proclaimed her innocence, claiming she would never intentionally hurt someone and that the baton strike was accidental.

“Eventually, after a couple times of hitting her, my baton got stuck behind her back like this, and it rolled up her back,” she told WAVY. “I lost my balance. When I pumped my arms again, she got hit.”

That argument did not sway Lynchbury Commonwealth Attorney Bethany Harrison, who promptly followed up with assault and battery charges.

On Thursday, Everett held a rally for her supporters in conjunction with the Portsmouth chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

“Thank you all for supporting me,” she told supporters. “There’s nobody else who wanted to hear my story except for people that know me and people that know I would never do anything like that. I would never harm anybody. I’m not a fighter. I’m not confrontational. I wouldn’t even do that on purpose.”

“The Everett family has experienced racial slurs, they’ve experienced death threats, and we think unequivocally that those things are unacceptable,” Portsmouth NAACP President James Boyd told Fox News.

Both the victim and the alleged assailant in this case are black.

“It bothered me to my heart to see how the whole world was dragging this young lady, dragging her character based on what they thought they saw,” local activist Germain Green said at the event. “I just wanted to step up, speak out, and bring unity and let this young lady know that the city of Portsmouth has her back.”

Everett faces one misdemeanor charge of assault and battery.

via March 15th 2025