On behalf of players, a lawsuit was filed against the Mead School District following allegations of assault and racial discrimination within the Mead High School football program.
The allegations are that a football player was assaulted with a massage gun by his teammates during a summer camp, and several other former players have come forward with similar allegations. The district is accused of failing to protect the students and turning a blind eye to the incidents.
In response to these allegations, the Mead School District hired a Seattle law firm to conduct an audit of the football program and the district's athletic programs overall. The audit aims to investigate the policies within the district, determine if any policies were violated, and identify areas for improvement. The head football coach, Keith Stamps, was fired amid the lawsuit for failing to appropriately respond to the allegations and for not informing other administrative staff members about the situation.
The lawsuit also contains allegations that black students were repeatedly targeted by their teammates because of their race, suffering lifelong consequences due to the district's failure to protect them. The incidents included physical assaults, racial slurs, and intimidation. The allegations are also that the district's staff, including coaches and administrators, failed to report the incidents and did not take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the victims.
https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/lawsuit-filed-mead-school-district-alleged-assault-mead-high-school-football-player/293-8c71a24a-c0b6-41b5-8e9d-1013e00d3f49 (Oct. 08, 2024);
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/mead-school-district-hires-seattle-law-firm-to-conduct-audit-on-football-program/ar-AA1x8dUe and https://www.krem.com/article/news/investigations/krem-2-investigates-alleged-mead-high-school-football-team-assault/293-6d31946d-2795-452e-bcd3-c879594bb093 (Nov. 11, 2024).
Commentary
We addressed this claim in prior writings; nevertheless, there are additional elements to explore.
According to the sources, the coach was terminated for several reasons related to the management of player misconduct allegations. According to the school district's investigation, the coach failed to appropriately respond to allegations of student misconduct, did not alert other administrative staff members about the situation, and was not honest or forthcoming with the district about the incidents.
The allegations began in June 2023, when there was alleged student-to-student misconduct at an Eastern Washington University football camp. In July 2023, a parent emailed the coach reporting the abusive behavior, but the coach claimed to have spoken with multiple students and determined that no misconduct had occurred.
Despite receiving additional reports and emails about the misconduct, the coach failed to investigate the new allegations and did not notify district officials.
School workplaces and other organizations with student or child safe environments must develop reporting standards for staff regarding wrongdoing, including, but not limited to, student misbehavior. These standards should be incorporated into handbooks, guidelines, the onboarding process, training, and continuing education.
The final takeaway is that it is never a best practice for school staff to perform an investigation of serious wrongdoing, like race-based or sexual assault. Investigations should be performed by trained investigators, preferably neutral third parties.
Additional sources: https://www.yahoo.com/news/mead-football-coach-fired-over-045900616.html and https://www.heraldnet.com/sports/mead-football-coach-fired/ (Dec. 04, 2024).
