NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An African-American teenager in Tennessee has filed a federal lawsuit against a school board saying he suffered repeated harassment and racial bullying but school officials failed to stop it.

In his lawsuit against the Robertson County Board of Education, DeAngelo Jones, who's now 18, says the bullying started when he was a freshman at Springfield High School and joined the baseball team. He said older white teammates repeatedly taunted him and hurled racial epitaphs at him. He says one student yelled to him to "run like the KKK is after you."

Court records show that the teen's mother reported the bullying but school officials did nothing to stop it.

School district spokesman Jim Bellis said he couldn't comment on the lawsuit because it was pending litigation.