Wheaton HS unjustly punished

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't MCPS have a rule you can't punish group of kids for actions they didn't take. an easier way to look is that you can't make a whole class sit out of recess just because one kid is misbehaving. This isn't eaclt the same but still kids who didn't deserve to be punished are being punished.

Schools have never been all that great or fair regarding dispensing justice. This is why I'm against the argument of MCPS running its own parallel justice system that some parents want. I'd rather they leave criminal matters to the courts.

This isn't a criminal matter, and the other kids should not suffer the consequences of the coach's actions.

[Anonymous]

Lets look at another hypothetical scenario.

Lets see there is a chess club.

Chess club sponsor buys some alcohol for the some of the children. not all but some.

It's not certain, but there is reason to assume the the other kids MAY have known that members of their club were consuming alcohol.

Consequences:

- Club sponsored should absolutely be fired and charged with providing alcohol to a minor
- The students that consumed the alcohol should be booted from chess club.
- Should the other students be banned from future chess tournaments, simply because we think they were aware of the infraction?

I would say no. They should be allowed to continue, with a conversation about how they do have a responsibility to speak up when they see others violating the rules.

It's the same for these wrestlers. They should be allowed to compete as individuals in the end of year tournaments

[Anonymous]

While I think it sucks that the kids are paying for the coach's poor judgement, I don't think they're getting their season back at this point.

This is why who we have to be scrutinizing and thorough about the adults we hire to put in charge of our kids. If their judgement is flawed, it impacts not only them but our kids. The principal should bear responsibility along with the coach for this poor hiring decision.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Details behind the ineligible student have been revealed: https://moco360.media/2023/02/13/wrestling-season-cancelled-for-wheaton-hs-team-over-a-technicality-parents-say/

The district first paused all wrestling program activities on Jan. 27 after receiving a report that a student athlete unaffiliated with Wheaton had been allowed to compete for the team. This was in violation of MCPS and Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSSAA) rules and regulations.

Wheaton tenth-grader Natalia Lazo said she was in the middle of a tournament at Blair High School when she and her teammate were informed that her entire team had been suspended for an undisclosed reason and that she would have to forfeit the rest of her matches. She said she was both upset and confused by the news.

The resulting MCPS investigation confirmed the initial report, finding that Ellis had allowed a student from a local Jewish day school to sub for one of the team’s regular players who was unavailable at the time, according to communications parents received from the school.

I can't understand why the coach thought putting a non-MCPS student-athlete in as a substitute was a risk worth taking. What a stupid move.

And yet, why punish the entire team? That is incredibly harsh and I hope it gets over turned.

Because they knew it and didn't do anything about it. Like accessory to a crime. I think it was the right call by school officials.

Come on, they were kids.

You expect kids to stand up to their coach, or worse, drop the dime on their coach. That's totally unrealistic.

Seems like a valuable life lesson.

NP. This seems like a troll post. Really? Kids being punished for an adult's decision is a "life lesson?" The adult did this. There should be a way forward for the students.

They knew they were benefiting from an act which is illegal. They were knowingly cheating and did nothing to stop it . Because of this, they deserve to be included in the punishment.

They weren't doing anything. The coach put the kid in. the team would have no say on this. Again, I call troll on you. I think you are just trying to stir the pot here.

So sick of “they didn’t know” crap

Knowing was not mentioned. Power was. It was the coach's decision, the students had no role or authority in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Principal and ex coach hired by principal are friends. find it hard to believe he didn’t know what was going on. Not fair for kids to be punished but we can’t trust the principal to hire someone else. County should step in and do it.

Principal has been allowing non students to sit in Wheaton classes for years. He gets to keep his job but fires coach?

This attack is both unsubstantiated and irrelevant even if true. Let's focus on the kids and the county decision here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't MCPS have a rule you can't punish group of kids for actions they didn't take. an easier way to look is that you can't make a whole class sit out of recess just because one kid is misbehaving. This isn't eaclt the same but still kids who didn't deserve to be punished are being punished.

Schools have never been all that great or fair regarding dispensing justice. This is why I'm against the argument of MCPS running its own parallel justice system that some parents want. I'd rather they leave criminal matters to the courts.

Very true; when I was kid, they were authoritarian regimes that doled out random punishments based on hearsay. I once got suspended for a week just for getting a math book from my locker because some student whom I didn't know was yelling at a teacher 30 feet away. There's no due process and nothing you can do to appeal. You just have to accept it and move on.

[Anonymous]

Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

So we are teaching kids to snitch? Because if one did and this all happened, everyone hates the one kid who reported. You can not punish the kids when they are supposed to respect their coaches and administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

So we are teaching kids to snitch? Because if one did and this all happened, everyone hates the one kid who reported. You can not punish the kids when they are supposed to respect their coaches and administration.

I think this is a tough one. If a coach was having sex with a kid on the team, we’d expect anyone who knew to report it. This is far less than a crime but yet so clearly a rules violation that seems to have given the kids an unfair advantage. There’s a line somewhere between harmless events that allow kids to sit back and those events that cause great harm and absolutely have to be reported. I don’t know where it it - it’s not my field. But the fact that the kids are at playoff level heightens the responsibility to behave with integrity. And, if the kids got to the playoffs because of unqualified players, there is no way to equalize the playing field and the team must go because they didn’t legally qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

Hope that one gets denied too. I support county’s decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

So we are teaching kids to snitch? Because if one did and this all happened, everyone hates the one kid who reported. You can not punish the kids when they are supposed to respect their coaches and administration.

I think this is a tough one. If a coach was having sex with a kid on the team, we’d expect anyone who knew to report it. This is far less than a crime but yet so clearly a rules violation that seems to have given the kids an unfair advantage. There’s a line somewhere between harmless events that allow kids to sit back and those events that cause great harm and absolutely have to be reported. I don’t know where it it - it’s not my field. But the fact that the kids are at playoff level heightens the responsibility to behave with integrity. And, if the kids got to the playoffs because of unqualified players, there is no way to equalize the playing field and the team must go because they didn’t legally qualify.

The two kids were not better than most of the team and up until that match were only practicing. Again, you can’t punish the students in a situation where they clearly didn’t know the rules and honestly shouldn’t be questioning authority - with a fear of it is allowed and they question, they ride the bench. This has happened in multiple sports, always happens in football and nothing this severe has ever happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

Hope that one gets denied too. I support county’s decision.

Why? There really doesn't seem to be a good reason for a team ban. Coach, yes. Team, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

Hope that one gets denied too. I support county’s decision.

Why? There really doesn't seem to be a good reason for a team ban. Coach, yes. Team, no.

I agree, 100%. I have no affiliation with Wheaton‘s program but my son is a wrestler at another MCPS hs. The individual wrestlers should be allowed to participate in the county and state matches. Unfortunately, due to the timing, it seems unlikely that will happen at this point. This is particularly heartbreaking for the seniors with their freshman and sophomore year is being impacted by COVID. Wrestling is such a unique sport - very demanding physically and mentally, with most wrestlers training year round. I am extremely disappointed with MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the county determined the punishment. The principal appealed and the appeal was denied. It was determined that the sport is both a team and individual sport and that at least some of the individual wrestlers knew and did nothing. There is another level of appeal.

Hope that one gets denied too. I support county’s decision.

Why? There really doesn't seem to be a good reason for a team ban. Coach, yes. Team, no.

I beg to differ and the county seems to agree with me. I'd say job well done and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Details behind the ineligible student have been revealed: https://moco360.media/2023/02/13/wrestling-season-cancelled-for-wheaton-hs-team-over-a-technicality-parents-say/

The district first paused all wrestling program activities on Jan. 27 after receiving a report that a student athlete unaffiliated with Wheaton had been allowed to compete for the team. This was in violation of MCPS and Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSSAA) rules and regulations.

Wheaton tenth-grader Natalia Lazo said she was in the middle of a tournament at Blair High School when she and her teammate were informed that her entire team had been suspended for an undisclosed reason and that she would have to forfeit the rest of her matches. She said she was both upset and confused by the news.

The resulting MCPS investigation confirmed the initial report, finding that Ellis had allowed a student from a local Jewish day school to sub for one of the team’s regular players who was unavailable at the time, according to communications parents received from the school.

I can't understand why the coach thought putting a non-MCPS student-athlete in as a substitute was a risk worth taking. What a stupid move.

And yet, why punish the entire team? That is incredibly harsh and I hope it gets over turned.

Because they knew it and didn't do anything about it. Like accessory to a crime. I think it was the right call by school officials.

Come on, they were kids.

You expect kids to stand up to their coach, or worse, drop the dime on their coach. That's totally unrealistic.

Seems like a valuable life lesson.

NP. This seems like a troll post. Really? Kids being punished for an adult's decision is a "life lesson?" The adult did this. There should be a way forward for the students.

They knew they were benefiting from an act which is illegal. They were knowingly cheating and did nothing to stop it . Because of this, they deserve to be included in the punishment.

They weren't doing anything. The coach put the kid in. the team would have no say on this. Again, I call troll on you. I think you are just trying to stir the pot here.

So sick of “they didn’t know” crap

Knowing was not mentioned. Power was. It was the coach's decision, the students had no role or authority in it.

But if they stood by silently then they were complicit in his actions.