Board of Education Directs Superintendent Laatsch to Appeal Football Forfeits

The Saline Board of Education voted 6-0 to direct Superintendent Steve Laatsch to contact the Michigan High School Athletic Association Friday to seek information about how the district can overturn the decision to require a forfeit of the football team's first three games of the season.

Dozens of football players, parents and others crammed into the Liberty School Board Room for a special board meeting Thursday night. About five or six football players spoke during public comment before the board went into closed session. When the board emerged, Vice-President Jennifer Steben made the motion, Trustee Brad Gerbe seconded it, and the board voted 6-0. Trustee Lauren Gold was absent as the meeting was scheduled during Rosh Hashanah - a decision which itself was criticized by Secretary Jenny Miller.

The parents spoke after the board's vote. They were clearly not happy with the district. The criticism was fierce and aimed in many directions, from Laatsch, to Athletic Director Ashley Mantha, to coaches of other programs.

But mostly, they said, the students on the team were let down by the district's inability to discover the residency issue and by the decision to self-report the residency violation to the MHSAA.'

Danielle Sims Woods is mother of LaDainian Woods. Woods, a senior, is in his third year at Saline High School. He's played football, basketball and competed in track and field. His mother said the district conducted its investigation into the residency issue without talking to her, despite her requests. She sees race as an issue.

"It saddens me to say these words, because I do not think all people are racist in Saline, the actions of the ones in power are, though," Woods said. "I used to be able to say, 'They are good.' Not anymore."

She said she believed the actions or lack of actions were driven by race.

"I truly believe if my skin was the same as yours, Steve, you would have given me the time of day," Woods said.

This came on the heels of the racist scrawls on the vehicle of a black Saline football player.

She said she never heard from Superintendent Laatsch when, after a racist attack on the football team, she had to pick up her son and, before the game that night, tell him "to go out there and prove how Black was beautiful and great."

Tammi Carr, who has a son on the team, put the blame squarely on Mantha.

"Beyond the daily tasks, the AD is responsible for building a culture, choosing and supporting their coaches, and, most importantly, protecting and advocating for their student-athletes," Carr said. "In my opinion, our current athletic director has failed and is responsible for the situation we find ourselves in today."

Carr said she spoke with seasoned athletic directors and learned it was unusual for Saline to "self-report" this residency violation so soon into an investigation.

"This is not what someone does when they are advocating for their student-athletes, or honestly if they know what they are doing," Carr said. "I was told by (other athletic directors) that you better make sure you fully investigate it before making that move because it would impact so many kids. I'm not saying you don't self-report. But you take more than a week to investigate before doing such damage to a program and to the kids who had nothing to do with the mistakes that were made."

Carr said other ADs told her they would have investigated it fully and then, if warranted, it would been elevated to the MHSAA after the season. That would have allowed student-athletes to continue playing without impacting the playoffs or the ability to produce film to attract colleges.

"This is very important for some of the kids on the team and will provide for their future," Carr said.

She said that elevating the investigation to the MHSAA without talking to the involved family was "throwing your athlete and this family under the bus."

Vanessa Keyes also questioned Mantha's credentials to be director of one of Michigan's best high school athletics programs. Mantha taught at Skyline and was coach of several state championship golf teams. She criticized Mantha for being on vacation as the football team was going through turmoil.

She also said the district made unfair demands of the Woods family.

"They came to Saline and said, 'We don't have anywhere to live.' Saline said, 'You guys have seven days.' How is that ethical to tell a family they have seven days? I would think you would say 'Hey, let's talk to Saline Area Social Service. We're here to help you,'" Keyes said. "I want to know where the support is. And we need your support."

A player's father with the last name of Issa said his family was new to the community. His team filled out a lot of paperwork, mostly by email, in its dealings with the athletic department. Issa is son was approved for practice and then to play for the first game. Then, he learned there may have been a problem.

"A couple of days later, I got an email saying that what I submitted was not good enough," Issa said. "As I come into this community new, I don't want anything to be a black mark on my family or my son. And then I come to find out we might have to forfeit the first game because of my son? That's tough as new members of the community."

Issa is a former coach and said he would have understood if the athletic department came to him and said he would have understood if his son was asked to sit out for a couple of games to make sure everything was in order.

"What I would like to see is better communication," he said.

He said he understood what the Woods family was going through because his family was facing the same situation.

"It's not fair what the families are going through," he said.

Kandace Jones has a son on the team. She is a former member of the Board of Education. She said she was happy to see the board had decided to appeal the decision, but said she was concerned this matter was not brought before the MHSAA Executive Committee for a waiver. The committee met Thursday and doesn't again meet until November.

"It is essential to emphasize this oversight is not the fault of players or coaching staff, who operated under the assumption that all procedures had been followed correctly. To now penalize the entire team for something out of their control feels unjust," Jones said.

Jones suggested submitting an appeal and requesting a special meeting of the Executive Committee so it can consider the matter before the season is over.

Marissa Johnson is a mom of a player on the team and an attorney. She said she and Danielle Woods requested to speak to the district administration last week to present information.

"And that request fell on deaf ears," she said. "A full and complete investigation was not conducted."

She said the report to the MHSAA was premature and untimely and did not include all the relevant facts. The team is suffering the consequences of that failure, she said.

Johnson said the lack of accountability and the blame-shifting were the last things parents expected from the district and athletic department.

"These kids are not cheaters. These coaches are not cheaters. They earned their undefeated record through hard work and dedication," Johnson said.

Shawn Furlong said he felt like the mental health of the students wasn't considered during this process.

"Everything was so swift - so swift to judge, so swift to tell on ourselves when we really didn't have all the information," he said. "Ultimately, the kids are the ones who were punished. Somebody failed. Somebody messed up."

Among the kids feeling it the most is Woods.

"He's going through a lot of mental health issues in view of the fact he's being booted from the team. He's taking full responsibility for this, and that's not fair," Furlong said.

Brad Ross said head coach Kyle Short and his staff were working to ensure the students are successful on the field but, more importantly, in life. He spoke to express frustration with a situation entirely out of the control of the students and said he was not there to point fingers.

"I am here to ask for your support of the team, the staff and the entire program. The goals the kids have worked so hard to achieve have now been taken due to circumstances beyond their control," he said. "What happened this year could have been avoided with better policies and processes."

Ross asked the board to appeal to the MHSAA, noting the mistake made was not a malicious attempt to gain an unfair advantage on the field.

Jolena Howard spoke about the importance of her son's senior year, and it was heartbreaking to see the team work so hard for five wins to start the season, only to watch three wins turn into losses. She had several questions. What was the alleged violation? What steps were taken before self-reporting? Why was there such swift acceptance of a penalty? Who was responsible for making sure such violations didn't happen? And does the penalty penalize the right person?

"You must appeal this decision. Eleanor Roosevelt said 'You must do the thing you think you cannot do,'" she said.

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