The events took place under the watch of school district officials who conceded that discounted tuition for athletes would constitute a violation of state athletic rules, a district document shows. A judge has sentenced 10 current and former high school athletes to prison terms of up to 25 years for their roles in numerous armed robberies in the Dallas area over the past year. It should be a Homecoming to remember! (Image courtesy Bellevue Wolverines Facebook) The KingCo Conference came down hard on Bellevue High School football Tuesday, banning the embattled program from postseason play for four years, prohibiting outside donations for four years and tightening oversight of incoming transfers for two years. Among the violations, the 68-page report found thatplayers families provided false address to gain eligibility and that head coach ButchGoncharoff encouraged players to attend classes at a private alternative school where some of the players tuition was subsidized by the programs booster club. Among the players who have attended Academic Institute were those instrumental in Bellevues recent 67-game winning streak: Myles Jack, a linebacker now at UCLA; Marcus Griffin, a defensive tackle at the University of Arizona; and Max Richmond, a wide receiver at the University of Washington. The families of two other players have described how supporters of the football program had a role in coordinating scholarships for the players. Yusef Freeman did not return a call Friday seeking comment on his letter. Art Thiel is a co-founder and writer for the rising sports website Sportspress Northwest. Food, Drink, and Coastal Christmas Anacortes has it all. Under ominous clouds and heavy winds, the Wolverines took the field in their electric yellow uniforms, to face the visiting Snohomish Panthers in a Week 10 crossover game. Its a disgrace that this has gone on as long as it has. Set the playing field equal, limit the activity of booster clubs to support supplies and travel costs. Students at AI a school derided as a diploma mill by two former teachers are still allowed to play on the Bellevue football team. Bellevue High School has established itself as one of the premier prep football programs in the nation with 11 state titles in the past 15 years. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps is the traditional American response to anyone who complains about his lot in life. Goncharoff built Bellevue into a football dynasty. You cheat, you steal, you lie. What is your main job as a parent? In its findings released a few hours earlier, the KingCo committee: Found a preponderance of evidence that Bellevue illegally recruited athletes to the school and coordinated payments for athletes, and that Bellevue failed to self-report money provided to players families. Washington state wants to be a leader in climate change, but I sense that the voters are not as concerned about that these days. The players reportedly got the steroids from a dealer named Big Mike who was a fitness trainer. Supporters of the Bellevue football program have shared the letter on social media. They say proposed project will negatively impact Minidoka internment camp site. An independent investigation found a series of violations at the powerhouse football program, including that coaches directed athletes to attend the school, that boosters paid for athletes tuition, that false addresses were used to gain eligibility and that coaches coordinated tuition payments for athletes. Great highlight video An investigation into the allegations by the Dallas Morning News led to the school investigating the claims as well. 12 Mead in the first round of the Class 3A state football playoffs 41-10 as Bellevue rode its potent rushing attack to a dominant victory that puts it just two wins from their second consecutive state championship game appearance. Wangs 64-yard burst up the middle with four minutes left gave the top-seeded Wolverines (14-0) the winning margin. Luke Scoma wins it for Bellevue with his 43-yard field goal in Wolverines' 22-20 win over Lincoln of Tacoma in Class 3A quarterfinals. Video Highlights of State Championship New coaching staff of young alumni lead Bellevue back to state football championship glory Courtesy of Stephanie Ault Justus. None of our business, he said. You do what you can to give your kid a leg up because you want him or her on a path that maybe you werent on.. Back to work tomorrow!. Fire and fine all involved. Bellevue football decimated the available pool of players for both Sammamish and Interlake for years to the point of Sammamish forfeiting games at the varsity level in 2015. In both games, seniors Ishaan Daniels and George Kruger were standouts. I think the idea behind high school sports is pretty genuine if you get together and you play sports with the kids you grew up with.. The movie portrayed the girls as ruthless in their quest to run the school. Coach Kneip on the game, We had a great, physical week of practice, and it really paid off. I have been watching professional and college sports for more than 40 years, and have been covering college football for Last Word on Sports for two years. Freemans parents criticized the Times reporters who wrote the Bellevue High story, saying they hounded and harassed their son and tricked him into saying things that he has no knowledge of. Due to state-wide ref shortages, the Wolverines trip to the jungle at Mercer Island High School was moved from Friday night to Thursday. Junior Carson Rubin was the first to take the spotlight two long runs and two TDs got BHS on the board in Q1. During one of the meetings with the Times, Freeman said he no longer had a relationship with his father. Butch Goncharoff is banned from coaching in Washington State, 3. And the district has cut ties with longtime assistant coach Pat Jones. Usain Bolt defeats Justin Gatlin, defends 100-meter title. After two rigorous non-conference games, Bellevue kicked off KingCo 3A conference play this past Friday night against Liberty High School of Renton. The following Monday, the Bellevue JV had their first home game of the season, hosting Juanita. SEATTLE An independent investigation into the Bellevue High football team uncovered "significant and long-standing violations" of state sports rules and extensive evidence that the team's. Daniels got the second half rolling with his fourth house call of the game, and Luke Scoma added a late field goal to give the Wolverines a 44-13 win. Unfazed by the less than hospitable conditions, the Wolverine ground game got to work against a stout Panther defense. Top-ranked 3A Wolverines get all they want for three-plus quarters, but Wing-T (342 rushing yards) generates big fourth-quarter scoring plays to pull away. It was a reminder of the Wolverines glorious past that got them fired up this week thanks to comments from Marysville-Pilchuck star running back Dylan Carson that fueled them for Saturdays matchup. Go re-read this story, and you will have your answers. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. ", "Pretty serious stuff," Thiel said. 2021 State Champs! Amazing game and ending for Bellevue Wolverines, The KingCo Conference is a 16-team conference [and] their athletic directors decided some fairly draconian punishments. KNKX Public Radio | Members of the booster club have criticized the investigation, which was conducted bytwo former federal prosecutors hired by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). The Wolverines found paydirt early and often, ending the first quarter with a 280 lead, eventually taking a 35-0 lead to half. That would be a likely violation of rules that generally require student-athletes to live within a schools attendance boundary. According to the findings, 17 players were funneled to a for-profit private school for extra classes and academic help. The Wolverines will face Snohomish High School, at home this Friday, in the Week 10 Crossover round. After their work in the back half of the Friday night game, the Bellevue JV made the Monday drive to the Sammamish Plateau, to face off against KingCo 4A opponent Eastlake Wolves. Bellevue High School offered a Physical Education program (football) not offered by this sham institution. They happen to go to a private school that doesnt offer a (football) program.. Bellevue High's football squad completed an undefeated season by winning the 3A state championship with a 17-13 triumph over Kennewick High on Dec. 4 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. These findings only corroborate what is probably the worst kept secret in the history of high school sports. 1 Bellevue back into 3A state semifinals: 4 observations A KingCo committee came down hard on Bellevue football Tuesday, banning the program from postseason play and prohibiting outside donations for four years. Bellevue Superintendent Tim Mills says the district will appeal. "The Bellevue High School football cheating scandal is 'American Greed' at it worst.". Court records from an eviction case also show a Yusef Freeman was renting an apartment in Sammamish in 2009. After starting the season in Sports Illustrateds SB Live Top 25, the Wolverines found themselves on the wrong end of two tightly contested losses to start their 2022 campaign. We asked our fans to vote for the 3A Players of the Year for Texas HS Football Podcast: Championship Series. The players were ejected from the game, suspended and an investigation launched. Coach Kneip said after the victory, Amazing atmosphere tonight!! While parents arent specifically mentioned in these allegations, ONeil says they would most certainly be involved in these violations and are also culpable. Jones began coaching at . Saint Mary's guard Logan Johnson knows both sides of the Zags-Gaels rivalry, 35-year-old loved his dog, the outdoors and his mother who is accused of killing him, Accused killer returns to Spokane to face murder charge in 40-year-old South Hill cold case. I found this story on USA TODAY High School Sports and wanted to share it with you: Freeman met with a reporter on two separate occasions at a SeaTac restaurant. She handles most sports coverage at the station, including helping produce a two-part series on the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the ongoing series "Going Deep.". But the program's remarkable success has. This decision is unfair to the players who are the heart and soul of this program. Senior running back William Wang rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns to lead Bellevue to a 3A state championship win over Kennewick on Saturday afternoon at Sparks Stadium. And in years where cheating was determined to have occurred, titles should be forfeited. For more high school stories, stats and videos, visit http://usatodayhss.com. The booster club should be disbanded. Comments (-1) BPS Summer STEM Camps. We asked readers for their thoughts on what repercussions the Bellevue football program should face, as well as what the scandal says about high-school sports. A video of two football players from John Jay High School in San Antonio went viral in September of 2015 after they blindsided a referee near the end of a game versus Marble Falls. The second half once again belonged to the youngsters and up-and-comers, who finished strong to the tune of a 56-14 victory. And oh, by the way, how is it fair that a public school has limits on the geographic locations of its players homes,but private schools players can live anywhere? Armstead is also in the New York Giants Ring of Honor. There are many changes that should be made but they will never happen because our society places much more value on their teams winning than they do on oureducation system., This incident underscores what happens when booster clubs are permitted for specific sports and when those clubs put their own egos and insecurities above the appropriate life lessons to be gained and promoted from participation in school activities. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All rights reserved. A high school state football championship in Texas is arguably about more than just temporary bragging rights. In the second half, the Highlanders were haunted by a flurry of big plays on special teams and defense, by the Wolverines. Theyre going to find you. Darien Freeman had said he lived in that city during his 2009-10 freshman season. But, we would be lying if we said that there wasnt at least a benefit to these kids.. Its no surprise that we tend to have a lot of conversations about entitled young athletes. The blatant efforts by school and district officials to obstruct the investigation demonstrate their complicity in cheating, their utter disregard for the truth and their complete lack of integrity. Bellevue High School Football; Bellevue Football. There's just too much 'go along, get along' over the years. This isnt a player finding $100 cash in his locker. The KingCo Conference came down hard on Bellevue High School football Tuesday, banning the embattled program from postseason play for four years, prohibiting outside donations for four. With the pregame celebrations and hugs finished, the Wolverines wasted no time getting down to business. The KingCo Conference report, released earlier this week, said that while players were illegally recruited to play for Bellevue, some used false addresses to be eligible within Bellevues residential district. Hogwash! 5 seeded Wolverines (8-2) walloped No. The players spent 75 days in the districts alternative school after the incident. NEWSLINE 425-453-4270. The parents confirmed in their letter that they received financial support, but said they properly requested aid from the school. Bellevue footballs promotion of a culture of cheating is a broadly understood fact. Goncharoff has argued that the decision to fire him was based on improperly applied policies. In order to remedy the violations, the district had proposed a suspension of the teams booster club along with meetings, training programs and policy reviews to ensure rules are followed in the future. Thiel said Goncharoff has been quite vocal about his innocence. It feels quaint to sit back and watch an old rerun of Friday Night Lights and see some rally girl doing Tim Riggins homework, or a star player finding a mysterious envelope with cash in it. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Kirsten is also a sports lover. For a paltry $1,750 tuition per month, these student athletes supposedly got academic help. Michael Kneip coaches his alma mater and is bent on restoring its football greatness. This is a public high school and a strong message needs to be sent that this type of practice cannot be tolerated. The Bellevue High School football cheating scandal is American Greed at it worst! Sat Nov 26 L . They don't have subpoena power because this is a trade association. Bellevue High is an extremely successful football program. We will continue to defend our right, and the right of booster clubs around the state, to make these activities available to kids.. School District officials are planning to fire the head coach, Bellevue coaches clearly violated eligibility rules for years, Clemson gets commitment from 4-star North Cobb RB David Eziomume, Vermont HS girls basketball team forfeits rather than face transgender opponent, USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school basketball rankings, week of Feb. 27, 2023, Sierra Canyon 4-star small forward AJ Swinton commits to Virgnia Tech, Imhotep Institute CB Kenny Woseley names top 4 schools, commitment date, Centennial boys basketball 3-peats as champions with buzzer-beater dunk, 'The Last of Us' actor, deaf youth hockey player meets Alexander Ovechkin in heartwarming video, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. We love to see the kids have fun and play ball. He can also be found on twitter @tonybruin, Unrecognizable U.S. Mens National Team Defeats Costa Rica, NBA Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers win Game 3 Convincingly over Golden State Warriors. Later, when the family lived in SeaTac, he said, his mother would drop him off at a bus stop in Renton to commute. He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America, and is a voting panelist for the Outland Trophy, the Nagurski Award, and the Biletnikoff Award. Accepted a Bellevue resolution that it will not renew contracts for two years of coaches who violated the WIAA rule that stipends and gifts of more than $500 must be approved by the school board. Until 1968, Washington state allowed restrictive housing covenants. This begins the discussion of the penalty phase of the violations, and there are several steps working through that process, said Mike Colbrese, WIAA executive director. The Bellevue grads on staff are Jake Hiller (2010, offensive line coach), Morgann Richey (2014, offensive line), Ryan Gilbert (2015, defensive backs), Jack Michael (2015, defensive backs), Matt Gilbert (2012, defensive coordinator), AJ Kneip (2016, offensive line/strength coach), Miles Carlson (2016, defensive back), Quinn Sullivan (2018, linebackers), Joe Razore (1997, offensive coordinator), Cam Johnson (1999, wide receivers), Peter Nguyen (2009, wide receivers) and Jojo Connor (2010, quarterbacks). No, its not something we want to teach our kids as the right thing to do, he said. Bellevue High School Football Share this Team > Regular Season . Rantz is much less critical of the Bellevue parents saying that, assuming the allegations are true, putting a student in the position to gain a college scholarship is a noble pursuit. Next stop for the Wolverines (13-0) is the state championship game the Gridiron Classic versus Kennewick at noon on Dec. 4 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. He's not going quietly. The parents disputed Freemans account in which he said his father had asked him to thank Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff for helping pay rent. Teaching young impressionable minds to cheat is criminal! Boosters have been barred from affiliating with the program. In the second half, Bellevue let their young guns get a taste of the MI rivalry under the big lights, and played out the remainder of the game under a running clock. The Times found at least three instances in which families of players attending the school were either given financial assistance by the team's boosters or didn't pay for the tuition themselves, a violation of state athletic rules. "Goncharoff, the booster club at Bellevue, and many people objected said 'No, this is all inaccurate. Here is a selection of the responses we received: Bellevue High Schools titles need to be removed. The long-running nature of the corruption uncovered by this investigation could only have occurred with the explicit or tacit approval of Bellevue High Schooland Bellevue School District administrators, as the reportvividly details. This will essentially kill the football program. Senior William Wang piled up 182 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 32 carries, and the Bellevue defense was tough as the top-seeded Wolverines laid a 27-3 licking on No. Following the string of robberies, six players were sentenced to prison with terms ranging from two to 25 years. This is another example of the incredibly flawed process that has been guiding this investigation for months. I think that theres a lot of different layers to understanding exactly what is going on., Related: Teen football player tackles suspected shoplifter. A video of Bellevue East High School's ', "The Bellevue School District said only one charge was valid and that was the compensation to Goncharoff, and so they recommended his firing. The team should have to forfeit the championships it won. To tear down this whole organization is a crime. Goncharoff released a statement after KingCos sanctions were handed down. This fake news reporting in the media hammered down on the program until the program was literally ripped apart at the seams. On the first play from scrimmage, freshman Max Jones took a handoff 65 yards to the house, and the JV squad never looked back. 1 talking about this. That's as many as Milwaukee, two more than Indianapolis and Tampa, and six more than Oklahoma City and San Antonio.. Bellevue Highs football squad completed an undefeated season by winning the 3A state championship with a 17-13 triumph over Kennewick High on Dec. 4 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. One son married a runner-up from The Bachelor TV show and became an assistant football coach at Bellevue. The startup funding should be part of the investigation. BHS cheated its own eligible students of playing. Jayson Jenks: 206-464-8277 or, cited in its report a preponderance of evidence that violations had occurred, 68-page independent report that found wide-ranging rules violations within the program, Bellevue football banned from postseason for 4 years, WIAA lifts Bellevue postseason ban, strips two state titles, Cedar Park Christian hires ex-Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff, Two-year ban for Goncharoff ruled violation of union rights, After upheaval, sanctions, Bellevue ready to get back to playing football again, Report: Bellevue coaches violated rules for years, district obstructed probe, was placed on a three-year probation last year, district had proposed a suspension of the teams booster club along with meetings. A 68-page report found that players' families provided false address to gain eligibility and that head coach Butch Goncharoff encouraged players to attend classes at a private alternative school. The Bellevue High (Seattle) football team is reportedly aided through a "diploma mill" private school, according to an investigation by The Seattle Times . In 2012, Freeman was among 17 boys pictured in the sophomore, junior and senior pages of an Academic Institute yearbook reviewed by the Times. The donors and contributors to this school should be identified. %link% Make it hurt. That probe confirmed some of the problems that The Times found and also detailed other issues, including families that had used false addresses to gain eligibility, a school district that had obstructed the investigation and evidence that Goncharoff had been paid beyond the bounds of WIAA rules. Copyright 2023, The Spokesman-Review | Community Guidelines | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy, A Grip on Sports: The action, good and bad, hits a little closer to home today, ESPN analysts expect 'rocking' Kennel for GameDay show, 'heavyweight fight' in Gonzaga-Saint Mary's nightcap , 'Growing up I can say I fell victim to being a Gonzaga fan.' Even private schools require the students attend classes at that institution and make the grades to play, not go to a strip-mall diploma mill., The Seattle Times closes comments on particularly sensitive stories. There are plenty of opinions during the aftermath of an investigation that found the Bellevue High School football team engaged in potentially illegal recruiting tactics, but one common thread is a lack of shock. Brady rolled through the playoffs that year up until the state game beating Belton (66-8), Taylor (30-8), Jasper (24-0) and Palacios (22-0). The win at all costs mentality, and the sad state of parents living vicariously through their childs athletic accomplishments, has put a pockmark on youth sports. 5. Jones has filed an unfair-labor-practices complaint with the Public Employment Relations Commission. The coaching staff should be immediately dismissed. But many of those accomplishments are in jeopardy, because of a scandal that has now reached the punishment stage. From changing grades and playing ineligible players to substance abuse and violence, these five scandals marred the face of the king of all sports in Texas. Dinner and dancing may have been the order of the day on Saturday, but on Friday night, Wolverine students packed the stands to see the Bellevue High football team demolish their crosstown rival Newport Knights. Nobody is talking about the kids who lived in-district whose spots were taking by athletic carpetbaggers., Sothe investigation found that, among other things, Bellevue boosters paid tuitionfor some players to attend an alternative school (just like many kids do) in order to receive instruction, compatible with their learning styles,that they needed to improve their academic standing. "It was discovered that there were athletes competing under false addresses in the Bellevue district. And that lofty tuition bill? Head coach Butch Goncharoff has been fired. The specifics of what happened is more symbolic of what is preposterously wrong with parents who lack the ability to teach their kids the responsibilities of being a student athlete. These are the kinds of challenges we look for., Then, this past Friday, the Wolverines made the long drive up to Lake Stevens High School, home of the preseason 4A #1 Vikings. The KingCo Conference has levied sanctions against the school that include four years of probation for the entire athletic department,no road games or out-of-conference games for two years, no money funneled into the program from any source for four years, no postseason play for four years and no out-of-state opponents (a big source of revenue) for four years. This isnt just about high school sports. My son plays football as a freshman at Liberty High School, and of course the teams one loss this past year was to Bellevue. Freemans parents, Yusef and Allona, wrote in a letter this week to the school district that their son lived in the Bellevue attendance area. "They also discovered compensation to the head coach, Butch Goncharoff, of $60,000 a year that was well in excess of what the standards are for high school coaches.". The deluge culminated in a 34-0 halftime lead for BHS. With the pregame pageantry and TV interviews done, the Wolverines got to work making the Big Game a big blowout. Now, we cannot be completely naive. Thiel said the complaints have been leveled at the Bellevue High School football program for years, but the scandal erupted after an investigation by the Seattle Times last year. Bellevue (Wash.) School District officials are planning to fire the head coach of the Bellevue High School football team, according to a letter sent to the coach by a top district official and .

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