football – ��

Opinion: Super Bowl Highlights Football’s Glory, But Youth Sports Must Confront Hazing

Lilah Drafts-Johnson — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:30:00 +0000

On Superbowl Sunday, we celebrate the pinnacle of teamwork and dedication in the sport of football. But beneath the surface, the same sport that unites communities on the big stage can also often foster toxic cultures in high school locker rooms. At least 10 high school football programs across the country are reeling following serious allegations of hazing on their team in the past season.

At Santa Fe High School in New Mexico, two football players following an accusation that they held another teammate down and sexually assaulted him. In Orange County, California, reports surfaced of at least who were sexually assaulted by their teammates at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Mead High School, in Spokane, Washington, fired their coach after filed a lawsuit alleging that white teammates assaulted them.

Studies show that of all high school students experience hazing, with 25% of respondents saying that it took place in a sports setting. Dr. Elizabeth Allan, the founder of the research group StopHazing, as “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.”

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Hazing is most common in large groups like sports teams, where individuals are attempting to establish their position within hierarchies shaped by norms of traditional masculinity. These rituals can range from an unspoken tradition of requiring freshman athletes to carry the water bottles of seniors to sexually abusive behavior.

Researchers fear that in severity and frequency, with sexually degrading acts emerging more often as a shortcut to humiliate and disempower a student. Despite their prevalence in sports, it is vital to recognize that hazing and sexual violence are not inherent to sports; they take hold when a culture of abuse is allowed to thrive.

As a sexual violence prevention educator who has facilitated workshops on building healthy sport cultures, I know firsthand that sports don’t need to be this way, especially when school districts and coaches prioritize efforts to create healthy and inclusive cultures on their athletic teams.

My journey as an advocate began when I was a captain of the Melrose High School track and field team in Massachusetts. , a local nonprofit with a mission of raising community awareness of domestic and teen dating violence, has worked closely with the Melrose Public Schools to implement prevention programs at the middle and high school levels since 1998.

In my senior year, I was selected along with other sport captains to participate in a gender violence, sexual harassment, and bullying prevention program called (MVP). The program follows a model in which the social capital and leadership skills common in high school athletes are leveraged to promote a culture of respect and inclusion.

Facilitators lead participants through discussions of realistic scenarios covering a variety of abusive behavior they might witness as bystanders and discuss how they can safely and realistically intervene. Participants also learn how gender stereotypes and dominant cultural expectations of masculinity – such as telling sexist jokes, catcalling, harassing girls and women, and making homophobic remarks – contribute to a culture where sexual violence and hazing are allowed to thrive.

Such partnerships with community-based nonprofits can help schools tackle these issues. But, buy-in from coaches is critical as well. found that 86% of coaches agreed that hazing was an issue in their community, but only 40% had a clear set of standards around appropriate behavior or how and when to intervene when hazing occurs. The study also found that six in 10 of coaches personally experienced hazing when they played a sport, which may lead them to normalize these behaviors unless they are provided with proper education and resources on how to build healthy team cultures.

Given that many high school coaches are volunteers or receive minimal compensation, they cannot be expected to drive change without the support of school districts and policymakers. In 2024, the Virginia Senate took a significant step by requiring the development and implementation of a research-based anti-hazing education program in all high school health and physical education classes statewide.

This builds on Virginia’s earlier efforts in the anti-hazing space, particularly Adam’s Law, passed in 2022 in honor of Virginia Commonwealth University student , who died in a fraternity hazing incident in 2021. Adam’s Law mandates hazing prevention education at all Virginia colleges, grants legal immunity to bystanders who intervene, and requires universities to publicly report hazing incidents online.

In his last weeks in office, then-President Joe Biden signed the , which requires universities to collect and publicly report data on hazing incidents. While this will improve transparency and awareness, the high number of violent hazing incidents in the past year’s high school football season shows the need for earlier intervention, as modeled in Massachusetts and Virginia.

School districts can reinforce their commitment to hazing prevention by implementing clear policies that include education for both coaches and athletes on what constitutes hazing, how to intervene safely, and how to foster team traditions and school spirit in ways that promote inclusion rather than harm. Additionally, athletic directors should establish anonymous reporting mechanisms that empower athletes to speak up safely and enforce zero-tolerance policies with well-defined consequences for hazing.

Sports have the potential to teach young people the value of teamwork, resilience in the face of challenges, and principles of lifelong physical fitness. But to truly fulfill this potential, all stakeholders in youth sports—policymakers, school administrators, athletic directors, coaches, and parents—must treat hazing, sexual violence, and abusive behaviors as the urgent, preventable issues that they are.

If you have experienced sexual violence, hazing, or any form of abuse in a sports setting, you are not alone. is a no-cost call, text, and chat service for athletes, coaches, parents, and anyone in sports communities who has questions or concerns about abuse or mental well-being in athletics.

Philadelphia Eagles Star Saquon Barkley Nearly Quit High School Football

�� — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:01:41 +0000

UNC-Chapel Hill Hires Bill Belichick as Head Football Coach in $50M Deal

Christine Zhu — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 19:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill formally introduced Bill Belichick as its head football coach at a Thursday press conference after negotiating a $50 million contract over five years.

It’s Belichick’s first time coaching college football after 24 years with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and six victories, and won an additional two championships as an assistant coach with the New York Giants for an NFL-record of eight Super Bowl wins. He started his pro coaching career as an assistant with the then-Baltimore Colts in 1975.

UNC announced the decision on Wednesday. Belichick is replacing Mack Brown, who was fired from the head coach position last month.

“I’ve always wanted to coach in college football, and it just never really worked out,” Belichick said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so that was okay, but this is really a dream come true.”

The allows for a salary of $10 million each year, a colossal, but far from unprecedented, amount for college football. Only seven college football coaches made more than $10 million in 2024. Belichick becomes the highest paid state employee in North Carolina history.

It’s double the salary Brown earned during his final season at UNC.

The university also reportedly agreed to increase its NIL — name, image, and likeness — package for football from $4 million to $20 million while recruiting Belichick, according to .

“As I’ve said many times, we want to be the best public university in the United States, and that means excellence in everything we do,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said. “We want to compete with the best, and we’ve hired the best coach.”

Although the final two years on his contract are not guaranteed, there are opportunities for bonuses of up to $3.5 million annually. Belichick also receives benefits like membership to the Chapel Hill Country Club.

Earlier in the day, the university’s board of trustees voted to approve the terms of employment for Belichick and women’s soccer coach Damon Nahas during a closed session.

The UNC System Board of Governors University Personnel Committee and the full board held back-to-back emergency meetings Thursday, discussing the contract in closed sessions.

Neither group officially revealed what they discussed, but one member congratulated Chancellor Roberts.

“Thank you to everyone, especially to Chancellor Roberts and his team, and we’re very excited for you,” Chair Wendy Murphy said.

Certain terms of coaches’ contracts require the approval of the UNC System president and the Board of Governors, according to .

“The Board of Governors does not approve the final contract, but did authorize certain proposed terms, as required by policy, prior to the institution executing the contract,” spokesperson Andy Wallace wrote to NC Newsline in an email.

Asked at Thursday’s press conference if in this new era of revenue sharing and player compensation, it was financially sound for the university to commit so much to football and men’s basketball (head men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis is paid just under $3 million in total compensation), athletic director Bubba Cunningham said he believed in this strategic investment.

“I think if you go all in on those two sports, those two sports provide all of the finances for the rest of the department,” said Cunningham. “The more successful we are on football, the more successful we are on basketball, the more opportunities we’re going to be able to provide for everyone else here. So, I’m delighted with it. And I think our future is incredibly bright.”

While others have expressed some concerns about the high-profile hire and where the football program may be headed, the 72-year-old coach sought to allay those fears.

“Excited for the opportunity to build and develop young student-athletes, young men, and prepare them for their life, either in the NFL or professionally. But the lessons they learn will be professional lessons,” Belichick said.

Building a more professional program will cost the university and its donors more money.

The contract also stipulates the university will work in good faith with the new head coach to contract with a general manager for the football program for a duration that matches that of Belichick at a compensation level not to exceed $1.5 million. Multiple media outlets have reported Michael Lombardi, who has worked for several NFL teams, will hold that position at UNC.

The Tar Heels last won a football conference championship in 1980. After a 6-6 season, they’ll face the UConn Huskies in Boston’s Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Dec. 28.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.

Carolina Panthers Coach Middle Schoolers

T74 Staff — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:35:29 +0000

Arkansas Football Coach Returns to His Shrinking Hometown & Scores Big for Teens

Jo Napolitano — Thu, 09 May 2024 16:01:00 +0000

Updated, May 9

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

On a gray February morning, the Pine Bluff High School gymnasium was filled with colorful balloons and flooded with music and laughter as family and friends, students and staff gathered to celebrate four college-bound star football players signing their national letters of intent.

Less than six miles away, a mother was mourning the loss of another beloved player, her 16-year-old son, Kendall Burton, who was gunned down just weeks earlier.

Addressing a standing-room-only crowd, the four elated student-athletes all thanked the same person — and the heartbroken mother in her quiet apartment did, too: Coach Micheal Williams.

The two events painfully juxtaposed what Williams has worked hardest to achieve since returning to his hometown — creating a pathway to college for his players — and what he has fought so strenuously to keep at bay. between the ages of 10 and 19 in this town of roughly 40,000 were the victims of homicide between 2020 and 2022, according to the most recent data.

“Kendall Burton was a great kid,” said Williams, who’s built close relationships with all of his players, but especially this affable teen. “I would let him date my daughter, you know, that type of kid. I always tell everybody he was the coach’s son.”

Shaketa Simmons, Burton’s mother, said Kendall felt the same way: “He loved Coach Williams. He would always say, ‘Coach Williams got our back. He would do anything for us.’”

Williams, who understands the grinding poverty that can lead some students astray, has always encouraged his players not to squander the opportunity they’ve earned through sports. But he had struggled in recent weeks to relate that message: Burton was a clean-cut kid who stayed out of trouble and still, his future was taken from him.

Burton’s death devastated the coach and now he found himself summoning the young man, who he picked up every morning before practice, to help keep his teammates on track amid their sorrow.

“I tell them, ‘You have to carry on, fight hard to be that person you are because your friend is looking at you,’” Williams said. “‘He’s clapping from heaven.’”

Boys to men

A former Pine Bluff football player himself, Willliams, now 40, helped lead some of the most storied teams in the country, including the one belonging to Duncanville High School just outside Dallas: They won in the last two years and were in the nation.

Pine Bluff High School football coach Micheal Williams stands on the team’s indoor practice field in February. (Jo Napolitano)

But no matter where he worked, he kept an eye on his football roots. He knew Pine Bluff players had talent, but somehow that wasn’t translating into college offers. Williams eventually discovered why: Some didn’t have the grades and none got the exposure they deserved.

Upon taking the coaching job in 2022, Williams immediately installed an academic-focused program: Players would practice in the morning and sit for study hall and tutoring in the afternoon. They would also participate in a character-building program — another of the coach’s initiatives — where they might learn to tie a tie or talk to a judge to better understand the criminal justice system.

“From Day One, I knew I needed to do something to try to change their grades,” Williams said.

For the sophomores, juniors and seniors, he built each player’s social media profile on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and alerted the recruiters he’s worked with through the years.

“Once I started sending those things out, it started drawing attention to a lot of the great athletes we have,” he said.

Jonathan Goins Jr., points to supporters during a celebration of his signing a national letter of intent to play football at the college level. (Jo Napolitano/��)

Among them: Jonathan Goins Jr., 17, and Landon Holcomb, 18, who both committed to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at the Feb. 7 signing. Chandler Laurent, 18, and who has earned a 4.1 GPA, will play for Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Makyrin Goodwin, also 18, is headed to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. All received full or partial athletic or academic scholarships.

Goodwin, who plays both right and left tackle — really anything on the offensive line, is looking forward to the next chapter of his life and thanked his coach for the progress he’s made until now.

“He is the best coach I ever had,” Goodwin said of Williams. “He makes sure we do good in school and everything. He’ll just call and check on you sometimes.”

Williams himself was an excellent running back — potential NFL material — but didn’t end up making it that far, in part, he said, because his high school coaches, whom he adored, weren’t focused on recruiting. So, he said, he did not have a shot at a big-time college. Instead, he attended Paul Quinn College in Dallas on a partial football scholarship.

And that’s why, when he became a coach himself, he prioritized recruiting, getting his players on the right schools’ radar and making sure they had the grades to be NCAA eligible, which for Division I schools means a GPA of 2.3 or higher in their core classes and 2.2 or better for Division II.

Coach Williams is a godsend and he has a heart for children. Not just sports. I said children. And under his tutelage, they become men.
Principal, Ronnieus Thompson

Principal Ronnieus Thompson appreciates Williams’s hard-earned connections and partnerships with colleges and universities. Four of his senior players have been given scholarship offers at DI colleges this school year, including Goins and Holcomb.

Two others penned national letters of intent in December — both to the highly regarded University of Missouri, part of the powerhouse Southeastern Conference and this year. Headed to Mizzou are Courtney Crutchfield, a four-star athlete who was the No. 1 high school football player in the state and number 11th in the nation under Williams’s leadership, and three-star athlete, Austyn Dendy, 17, who is ranked fourth in Arkansas.

Bringing the total headed to college to eight, cornerback Perrea Little signed with DIII Centenary College of Louisiana just this week and wide receiver Marquez Brentley Jr. accepted an academic scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“Coach Williams is a godsend and he has a heart for children,” Thompson said. “Not just sports. I said children. And under his tutelage, they become men.”

‘The person I am today’

The coach describes himself as strict. He doesn’t mind adding some bass to his voice to deliver a point on the field and players who arrive late to 6 a.m. practice will find themselves pushing a 45-pound plate 100 yards before moving on to exhaustive drills.

In his softer moments, he talks to them about family trouble, girl problems and how they sometimes can’t wash their clothes at home because the power has been cut off. In that case, Williams invites them to use the school’s washer and dryer.

“I’ve been poor,” he tells them. “I know how it feels to wake up and there’s roaches in your food or maggots in your rice: You haven’t been through anything that I haven’t been through. But success comes from being a powerful young man and being able to fight through adversity.”

Sometimes, when Williams was a young boy, his own family would lose electricity and the three kids and their parents would all sleep together in the same room to keep warm. And it wasn’t uncommon for him to look out the window, he said, to see his parents picking up cans on the side of the road to afford a 49-cent pack of hot dogs.

“If we were going to play baseball, my mom would go out and search every thrift store to try to find us a glove,” he said. “It may have been old but, you know, we made the best out of it. It helped make me into the person I am today.”

Emmanuel Hudson, 16, and a defensive tackle, said the coach always comes through for him. He’s given the teen food when he’s hungry and, most recently, a dress shirt for a formal school event: Many come from a small collection Williams keeps in his office in case such a need arises.

“He’s just been so good in my life,” Hudson said. “Like a stepfather, for real.”

It’s the type of support that’s helped him through the loss of his friend, Kendall Burton, who was shot dead Jan. 12 at an intersection close to his grandmother’s house.

The investigation into Burton’s death remains open and Pine Bluff police did not respond to a request last week for an update. Earlier, department spokesman David DeFoor told �� police had a suspect in mind but not enough evidence to make an arrest. The department was asking for the public’s help, offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction.

Simmons credits the entire team for being such a positive part of her son’s life, which was marked by a grave struggle long before he was gunned down: A growth on Burton’s neck when he was 8 was diagnosed as Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Those are his brothers,” Simmons said of his fellow players.

Shaketa Simmons holds a pillow emblazoned with images of her son, Kendall, who was killed Jan. 12. (Jo Napolitano/��)

Sitting in her son’s bedroom, which she’s turned into a memorial, his pictures and jerseys hung up on the walls, Simmons said it’s the family’s deep sense of faith that she leans on now that her son is gone. As a child battling cancer, Burton would tell his mother not to worry, that, “God got me.”

“When I think about my boy … I just want to cry, I just want to let loose,” she said. “But most of the time I can’t because the spirit comes to me and says, ‘No, I got Kendall.’ When I hear that, I’m like, ‘OK, OK, I hear you.’”

The new model students

Williams’s father, Micheal Sr., a minister of music, drove a school bus for Pine Bluff for 20 years and had numerous jobs after that. He eventually became a preacher who also sang and played piano at a local church and nearby prison. At one point, he owned a used car lot in Pine Bluff, but his generosity undermined his efforts: A customer with a particularly heart-wrenching story might walk away with a free vehicle, his son said.

His father never saw Williams play when he was younger because he was always working. Now, he never misses a game: He broadcasts them on Facebook. Williams’s mother, Pamela, who became a nurse, remains her son’s biggest fan. Hers is often the loudest voice cheering from the stands. And her son’s spare supply of dress shirts and the like often comes from her, the result of Pamela Williams regularly bargain hunting for those in need.

“She taught me the gift of giving,” Williams said. “They both did.”

It was that sense of wanting to give back and improve the lives and prospects of young people that drew him home. It’s a notion shared by many: Williams arrived in a city already working hard to bring about positive change. It opened an enviable in 2019 and has plans to long-neglected parts of the community, including historic buildings. But perhaps the most life-changing moment for Pine Bluff students will come when the district breaks ground on a new, state-of-the-art high school, replacing a decades-old facility with roofing so decrepit that it rains inside classrooms and hallways.

“The right work is being done,” said Thompson, the principal. “Have we made it all the way there? Of course not. But we are taking those steps in the right direction.”

Thompson credits the coach for being a critical part of this effort, adding that his reach extends well beyond the field: When students struggle in other areas of their life, he’ll call upon their teachers and counselors for help.

“We don’t have trouble with the athletes anymore,” Thompson said. “They used to be some of the biggest knuckleheads. Now, they’re model students and that’s the way it should be. I’m glad that he’s here.”

Chandler Laurent, 18, who boasts a 4.1 GPA, signed with Hendrix College. (Jo Napolitano/��)

Micah Holmstrom, a 10th- and 12th-grade English teacher, said Williams’s mandatory study hall has allowed him to chase down students who were missing assignments or who needed extra help.

“I knew exactly where they were,” Holmstrom said, adding Williams’s emphasis on academics made his work even easier. “Those guys are so comfortable with him and it’s in a place that’s a familiar environment: They’re more willing to sit and hack through some of the difficult stuff than in class.”

Frank Lyles, a math teacher, uses the time to teach kids about complex topics they didn’t understand in class, including parabolas, a U-shape curve whose contours students can find in their own game: Every ball they throw follows a similar arc, illustrating his lesson.

Parents, too, credit Williams for helping their children stay focused. Nicole Dendy, whose son, Austyn, will pursue veterinary studies at Mizzou, said football is her son’s drive.

“Football motivates him,” she said. “So, whatever it takes to get him on the field, that’s what he’s going to do.”

Students and staff inflate the Fighting Zebra mascot ahead of a college signing ceremony at Pine Bluff High School. (Jo Napolitano/��)

Hudson, the defensive tackle, helped prepare the gymnasium for the college signing day in Februrary. He was overjoyed to see older players recognized for their athletic and academic success.

“Coach Will and the other coaching staff have been hard on us to put the work in,” he said. “He said, from Day One, whatever we want, we’ve got to earn. So, I feel like we earned it and that’s why we got it.”

How to Help Kids Traumatized by Kansas City Super Bowl Parade Mass Shooting

Maria Benevento and Trace Salzbrenner and Mili Mansaray — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:01:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

For starters, experts suggest, get the kids back into school. Routines matter in the raw aftermath of trauma.

Child health experts say the shooting that killed a mother and wounded several children at the close of Kansas City’s celebration of the Chiefs’ latest championship likely left kids traumatized. Whether they were near Union Station or, for some, just hearing the news.

Schools quickly made social workers and counselors available Thursday and put out advice to parents on how to help children return to a sense of normalcy and safety.

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Some children, the experts say, need to talk about their concerns. That, the experts say, needs to be balanced against dwelling too much on what happened or trying to force conversations that could go wrong.

Wednesday’s violence came after clinicians saw a troubling mental health hangover from the pandemic.

“Rates of anxiety and depression doubled for young people,” said Dr. Shayla Sullivant, a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Children’s Mercy Hospital. “Now we have more kids that have experienced trauma.”

Multiple school districts told The Beacon that they’re turning to what’s familiar — like going right back to school — to help restore calm after a calamity.

When disaster strikes, “it comes from a place that we didn’t expect, and we don’t know how to deal with that,” said David Smith, a spokesperson for the Shawnee Mission School District. “Being able to connect people, kids, to the familiar, to the routine, can be helpful and give them a comfort that the world is returning to the world that they know and (where) they feel safe.”

Adults matter, too. Parents and teachers, Smith said, need to recognize and seek support for their own distress “in order for us to be there for our kids.”

The shooting marked a “community-level trauma,” said Damon Daniel, president of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, even in a city that saw a record 182 homicides last year.

“We live in a city where we’re not strangers to violence,” he said.

His group worked with prosecutors and other organizations to offer counseling on Thursday at the Kansas City United Church of Christ in Brookside. He said it’s time to talk with professionals and not to lean on isolation, substance abuse or more violence to cope.

“It’s a very complex problem. It’s not one solution,” Daniel said. “There’s no silver bullet to this.”

For starters, public places might never feel the same to some people after the Union Station shooting. Chris Williams, a counselor with Heartland Therapy Connection, said teenagers and young adults might be particularly damaged by the trauma.

“There are no public places they can look at and be, like, ‘I’m safe here,’” he said. “More and more children are on guard, looking out.”

He said survivors can experience extreme post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, such as paranoia or fear of loud noises, and will look to adults for assurance.

“We’re losing that ability to tell them it’s gonna be OK,” Williams said. “There are no safe spaces.”

Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Collier emailed parents urging them to address the trauma directly.

“While our instinct may be to shield them from the harsh realities of the world,” she wrote, “it’s essential to proactively address their concerns, especially with our older students who are more likely to seek information independently.”

The district was still sorting out Thursday how many students were close to the shooting even as it suggested parents limit their children’s exposure to news coverage.

Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools also enlisted counselors and social workers and told parents that their kids need someone to turn to.

“People deal with pain and tragedy differently,” district spokesperson Edwin Birch said. “The main thing is just being available.”

At Wichita’s USD 259, the largest school district in Kansas, administrators strove to return to the routine.

“Children are pretty quick to move on to the next thing,” said Stephanie Anderson, who works in the district’s counseling services. “They don’t dwell on stuff like this, unless they hear adults dwelling on it.”

That, she said, needs to be paired with candor.

“(Don’t) sugarcoat it or don’t create fear,” Anderson said.

She and other experts suggest parents look for routines breaking down in the aftermath of the Super Bowl parade. Is your child having trouble sleeping? Has their appetite dwindled? Are they crankier than usual?

An adult’s ear can prove especially helpful, said , a clinical psychologist specializing in children and adolescents at Laurel School’s Center for Research on Girls in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

She said trusted adults — family, mental health professionals, school staff — need to be available. Cordiano said younger children may prefer to process their emotions about the parade shooting through art, and older children will need someone to confide in.

“When they have those places to talk,” Cordiano said, “it can help them cope.”

The more comfortable kids feel to talk, she said, the better to keep them grounded and feeling safe.

“When we shut it down,” she said, “it makes it too big or scary.”

Yet exposure to leaves some psyches damaged for a lifetime. Starsky Wilson, president of the left-leaning Children’s Defense Fund, said gun violence can heighten children’s risk of abusing drugs and alcohol or weigh them down with depression and anxiety.

“The normalization of gun violence in society can desensitize children to the impact of violence and contribute to a sense of helplessness or resignation about the problem,” he said in an email to The Beacon.

Wilson said, in turn, that can make it harder to feel secure, form relationships or thrive in school.

“When exposed to violence,” he wrote, “school-aged children tend to exhibit lower academic grades and increased absenteeism.”

This story was compiled by Scott Canon based on staff reporting. Suzanne King contributed.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .

Mel Tucker Fired as Michigan State University’s Head Football Coach

Anna Liz Nichols — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:01:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Michigan State University fired head football coach Mel Tucker on Wednesday on the grounds that he violated the ethical conduct portion of his contract.

The letter sent to Tucker Wednesday from the university rehashes Tucker’s admitted actions toward sexual violence advocate Brenda Tracy as misconduct. Tracy reports that Tucker sexually harassed her, whereas Tucker said they had a consensual flirtatious relationship.

Tucker was less than two years into his 10-year, $95 million contract.

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MSU Tucker to his impending termination on Sept. 18.

“At this point, the University has amassed a body of undisputed evidence of misconduct that warrants termination for cause,” the notification to Tucker last week said.“The unprofessional and unethical behavior is particularly egregious given that the Vendor at issue was contracted by the University for the sole purpose of educating student-athletes on, and preventing instances of, inappropriate sexual misconduct. Your admitted conduct — engaging in sexual extramarital behavior with a University vendor rises to the level of a material breach of your contractual duty to the University to conduct yourself in a professional and ethical manner ‘at all times.’”

Tucker has admitted to making sexual comments at Tracy and in particular, he admitted to masturbating on a phone call with her on April 28, 2022, which was the crux of the complaint Tracy made to the university in December 2022, saying it was non consensual and sexual harassment.

Information about the phone call became public with a USA Today investigation published earlier in September. Tracy is an advocate who travels to schools, including MSU, to create awareness for sexual violence. In Tracy’s comments to USA Today and in several comments posted to her social media accounts, she said she did not consent to Tuckers conduct on the call.

Tucker’s attorneys responded to the university’s notification of intent on Monday, outlining in 25 pages that what Tucker did does not fulfill an ethical violation in his contract and “the flimsy foundation of the University’s finding — a private relationship involving mutual flirting and one instance of consensual phone sex — falls far short of the mark.”

The letter from Tuckers’ attorneys say there is evidence of consent from Tracy to the call and evidence of a relationship before and after the calls. The attorneys add that, “there is no MSU policy that requires anyone to have consent for phone sex.”

“Focusing on consent for the question of whether a hostile environment exists is a mistake,” the letter reads. “There is evidence that she continued to contact MGT for personal reasons thereafter, thus undercutting any argument for unwelcomeness. If the conduct was welcome, then it cannot create a hostile environment and the complaint must be dismissed.”

The termination letter sent out by MSU says that Tucker’s legal team clearly had enough time to understand the university’s concerns, but it fails to address why Tucker should not be fired.

“Simply put, Mr. Tucker’s response does not provide any information that refutes or undermines the multiple grounds for termination for cause set forth in the notice,” Athletic Director Alan Haller said. “Instead, his 25-page response, which includes a 12-page letter from his attorney and a 13-page ‘expert report,’ provides a litany of excuses for his inappropriate behavior while expressly admitting to the problematic conduct.”

A formal hearing to review the results of the university’s investigation into Tracy’s report is scheduled for Oct. 5 and 6.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on and .

A National Bus Driver Shortage is Upending Texas’ Beloved Friday Night Football Games

Pooja Salhotra — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

East Texas towns come to life on fall Friday nights when fans decked out in school colors fill stadiums to cheer on their high school football team. Marching bands, cheerleaders and drill teams ignite competitive spirits when decades-old rivalries kick off.

So when a shortage of bus drivers prevented Nacogdoches High School from transporting those student groups to an away football game in Titus County this month, the town was disheartened.

“The atmosphere is really not the same without the band and drill team there, playing and making noise for the team,” said Adrian Belista, a junior at Nacogdoches High and drum major for the band. “It was kind of like a missing piece.”

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Belista and his 205 band mates ended up putting on a performance at their home Dragon Stadium that mid-October Friday night while the football team played their game at Mount Pleasant — about a two-and-a half-hour bus trip — without their usual fandom or their pre-game fight song.

Across the state, school districts are improvising amid a national shortage of bus drivers. The issue is not new, school district officials said, but it has been exacerbated over the past few months by a , fueled by such factors as the COVID-19 pandemic, child care challenges and a slowdown in immigration.

In a February 2022 national from the American Public Transportation Association, 71% of transit agencies reported that they’ve had to cut or delay service because of worker shortfalls.

The problem is heightened in sprawling rural areas such as East Texas, where commutes tend to be longer and labor is already in short supply.

“Part of the problem is that it’s not just us looking for help, but down the road Pilgrim’s Pride is looking for drivers at their processing plant, and Tyson [Foods] in Center is looking for help,” said Les Linebarger, spokesperson for the Nacogdoches school district, which runs about 40 daily bus routes. “We are all competing for that same small labor pool.”

The district reached out to multiple charter bus companies to help transport students to the recent football game, but they were all booked.

Farther north in Longview, the school district has filled vacant driver roles over the past few weeks. But without subs or alternate drivers, the district continues to run into problems whenever a driver calls in sick. When that happened in late October, the district combined two bus routes, placing more kids than usual on a single yellow bus.

Wayne Guidry, who serves as superintendent of business, transportation and technology, wasn’t surprised when a fight broke out between students on the bus that day.

“Ninety-eight percent of our problems come from kids having to be combined on buses,” Guidry said. “That’s when all the incidents like this happen.”

Districts have tried to combat the driver shortage by raising pay rates for bus drivers and by holding job fairs.

In Tyler, the school district’s communication team ran a targeted recruitment campaign last year, putting slogans like “Parents Do This for Free; We’ll Pay You’” on the sides of buses.

The Tyler school district also pays for the training drivers are required to complete before taking the test for a commercial driver’s license. Potential employees are hired as bus driver trainees at $12 an hour and get their commercial learner’s permit while taking the self-paced class. The class usually takes about two to three weeks to complete, according to the district’s spokesperson, Jennifer Hines. She said the program has helped the district with its 154 daily routes, but they are still short by eight drivers. Some district leaders said that new federal training requirements for bus drivers are excessive and make it too hard to hire new employees.

The U.S. Department of Transportation sets baseline training requirements for entry-level drivers. A was put in place in February, requiring drivers to take a class before taking the CDL test for a permit. Those classes must be taken through an entity approved by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and can take two to three weeks and cost hundreds of dollars.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Linebarger said. “Of course we want properly trained drivers and we want safe drivers, but on the other hand if it’s more difficult to become licensed, that’s going to affect your numbers.”

This article originally appeared in , a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Meet Barrier-Breaking Homecoming Royalty

Meghan Gallagher — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 20:01:00 +0000

It’s an American tradition — but with a fresh approach to teenage royalty.

For years, high school homecoming has been celebrated across the country as a welcome back to classes with a home football game and a dance where the king and queen are crowned.

This year, instead of the popular cheerleader and talented quarterback becoming homecoming king and queen, classmates broke through stereotypes when electing their new rulers.

At many schools, crowning the court has become about showcasing great character, celebrating inclusivity and diversity, and creating change.

Recent social media posts and photos introduced us to this year’s inspiring lineup of kings and queens and the people who voted them in: The football player who traded her helmet for a tiara. A queen who relinquished her title to a classmate who had just lost her mother to cancer. The king who spreads joy to his classmates every day of the week.

With homecoming season coming to an end, here’s a roundup of 2021’s high school trailblazers:

In Mississippi, Forrest County Agricultural High School’s homecoming went viral after a grand act of kindness and selflessness.

Moments after being crowned, Nyla Covington turned around and placed it on a nominee who had just lost her mother to cancer.

Meanwhile, in the same state, Long Beach high school elected a athlete: Ashton Rupert can now add homecoming queen to her list of volleyball, softball, soccer and football accolades.

In Texas, Clements High School’s basketball team congratulated varsity football player Allison Wang for “Girl power at its finest!” on her new royal title.

https://twitter.com/girlsbballCHS/status/1451741677698396162

At Westminster high school in California, yet another football player, Jordan Gavlin, was named homecoming queen.

Jordan Galvin smiles after football practice in Westminster on Oct. 14. (Getty Images)

Galvin still has her nails painted from Oct. 8, when she was named homecoming queen. (Getty Images)

Classmates at Romeo High School in Detroit broke the mold when they voted to make Carson Krawczyk, a student with autism, homecoming king. The “always happy” teen has made a positive impact on many lives, so it was “their turn to make an impact on his,” students said.

In Orlando, Florida, history was made when Evan Bialosuknia was elected her high school’s first transgender homecoming queen.

In another first, Zachary Willmore broke barriers at his school in Missouri this October when he was named queen. “It was an honor to be on the homecoming court in the first place, but you guys have honestly made that one of the happiest nights in my life,” Willmore wrote on .

https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1453613276198285314

At a Passaic County Technical Institute in New Jersey, Zoe Nelson wanted to “expand the school’s view of gender by running for the title of king as a female,” But it wasn’t without controversy. Shortly after she won, the administration expanded the contest to include two boys as kings, and students subsequently protestested the school’s decision.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVLNxF7LiVp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

football – ��������

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Meet Barrier-Breaking Homecoming Royalty

football – ��