Reported hazing incident involving Damascus High School JV Football team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe that they haven't shut down the entire football program at Damascus for this season. The coaches and program directors can be furloughed until next season. The students go back to class. Next year, the program can be on probation for 5 years, regular audits and oversight and ANY infraction of bullying, hazing or any other inappropriate behavior shuts down the program permanently.

There need to be consequences for something this serious.

I agree, but I saw a Damascus parent on TV saying that this incident has nothing to do with other teams at their school so there should be no repercussion for anybody else. This statement by a Damascus HS parent told me all about the culture in that community. Crime/rape is not a big deal there.

I'm glad that you have made up your mind about Damascus based on one parent interview. You have no idea about the "culture" of the Damascus community and how people are reacting to all of this. But by all means, go ahead and make your assumptions thanks to a parent interview and your preconceived notions of this town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I am a MCPS teacher. I was finger printed in 1998. They ran my background check in 1998. A lot could happen in 20 years. How many people were hired a decade ago and haven't been checked since? "

This is blatantly untrue. I have worked for more than 20 years in a nonprofit that serves children, and we do FBI and Maryland background checks. They are checked every year, and even if someone who worked for us 15 years ago and hasn't since, commits a crime, I am notified. The check isn't one and done, it is ongoing forever.

You don't work for MCPS, how can you say what is true? The MCPS teacher is telling the truth. They were finger printed at hire. Period. That was it. What happened at your nonprofit has nothing to do with MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The athletic director and superintendent sent this video to all students:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=F9j-1DGvKRc

This video is a CYA video. Plenty of verbal and mental abuse form Coaches that has beenreported and they do nothing.


Too little too late.

+10000 Jeff Sullivan and Dr. Smith know of coaches who have harmed children. They are quick to come down hard on students for violating the Student Code of Conduct but employees are not removed for serious violations of the Employee Code of Conduct. That is why child predators flock to work in MCPS.

Bullying behavior by coaches also creates athletes who bullying and haze students. The students follow the example set by coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like the police to investigate the parents of the perpetrators. This abuse and behavior can only come from home.

Wrong. The behavior can be modeled and condoned by coaches and athletic director.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like the police to investigate the parents of the perpetrators. This abuse and behavior can only come from home.

Wrong. The behavior can be modeled and condoned by coaches and athletic director.

There were 5 students arrested. They did not all have the same parents. They had the same coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The athletic director and superintendent sent this video to all students:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=F9j-1DGvKRc

This video is a CYA video. Plenty of verbal and mental abuse form Coaches that has beenreported and they do nothing.


Too little too late.

DCUM - MCPS should do something more!

MCPS - here's an anti-bullying video

DCUM - Too little too late!

FFS people, make up your minds.

I am the poster and why I said this is that they have know of issues for years.

Getting rid of bad coaches, better coach training and AD's that listen to students and not try to cover up for the coaches or the athletes that are pulling this behavior with real repercussions are just a few of things that can be done to improve the athletic experience.

What exactly does a video do except for them to point and say , see we did something?

So are you saying that the video was a bad idea? By the way, by no means did I get from this video that they plan on doing nothing else.

I'm impressed that they emailed it directly to all the students using their school accounts. The only way to root out anything else currently going on is for the students to report it. Hope they do.

I wonder if students will be able to watch the video, since MCPS has restricted access to YouTube effective this week.

ABC7 reported tonight that the video will be shown to students in class. Why can't it be posted to the child abuse webpage or the home page for MCPS so parents can see it?

I have seen the video through school sources and while I praise it for signifying the need for students to come forward to report students who bully, haze, and abuse students, the video should have directed students to report ANYONE who do these things including school staff members such as coaches. In our school, the athletic director lets coaches get away with abusive language and verbal assaults to students. The actions by a coach is dismissed as a "coaching style" whereas MCPS would harshly discipline a student demonstrating the same behavior. Good coaches haver left the school because the athletic director is a bully himself so he attracts the worst type of individuals to work with children.

[Anonymous]

What is the procedure for reporting hazing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the procedure for reporting hazing?

Per MCPS, the MCPS Form 230-35 is to be filled out for reporting hazing. This is the MCPS Bullying and Harassment form.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/forms/detail.aspx?formID=40&formNumber=230-35&catID=1&subCatId=78

It would be great if MCPS could add hazing and verbal abuse to the title so it is clearer this is the form they want students and parents to use.

[Anonymous]

This is a link to the Superintendent's video on hazing:

https://youtu.be/F9j-1DGvKRc

[Anonymous]

MCPS failed to protect my child from bullying that equated to verbal abuse. We provided written evidence that MCPS ignored.

Dr. Smith is not as committed to safety as he states whenever a child abuse case is reported by the media.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS failed to protect my child from bullying that equated to verbal abuse. We provided written evidence that MCPS ignored.

Dr. Smith is not as committed to safety as he states whenever a child abuse case is reported by the media.

Dr. Smith is overwhelmed and has one foot out the door. I can't imagine he likes his job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS failed to protect my child from bullying that equated to verbal abuse. We provided written evidence that MCPS ignored.

Dr. Smith is not as committed to safety as he states whenever a child abuse case is reported by the media.

Dr. Smith is overwhelmed and has one foot out the door. I can't imagine he likes his job.

Dr. Smith should step down. He is a hypocrite who consistently fails to protect students. He is purely reactionary when the police make arrests but MCPS is doing little to PREVENT verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS failed to protect my child from bullying that equated to verbal abuse. We provided written evidence that MCPS ignored.

Dr. Smith is not as committed to safety as he states whenever a child abuse case is reported by the media.

Dr. Smith is overwhelmed and has one foot out the door. I can't imagine he likes his job.

Dr. Smith should step down. He is a hypocrite who consistently fails to protect students. He is purely reactionary when the police make arrests but MCPS is doing little to PREVENT verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of students.

+1

He is just terrible.

I get that it’s a tough job, but if he doesn’t to do it, he should step aside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"I am a MCPS teacher. I was finger printed in 1998. They ran my background check in 1998. A lot could happen in 20 years. How many people were hired a decade ago and haven't been checked since? "

This is blatantly untrue. I have worked for more than 20 years in a nonprofit that serves children, and we do FBI and Maryland background checks. They are checked every year, and even if someone who worked for us 15 years ago and hasn't since, commits a crime, I am notified. The check isn't one and done, it is ongoing forever.

Then why was I refinger printed last Friday? If they have my original finger prints and run them yearly, why would they need to do it again.

Which poster are you?

I'm no longer in the county, as we moved out of the area over the summer. However, in my 20+ years as an MCPS educator, I was fingerprinted once in 1993.

Have things changed in a few months?

[Anonymous]

The police report apparently says that there were people who knew this to be a regular thing. The whole Damascus football program should be suspended until there's been a complete investigation. The varsity team shouldn't have played last Friday, and they certainly shouldn't play the rest of their season.