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Tag: Jason Seidel

  • Seidel sanction limited to one week

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Chief Communications Officer for Richland School District Two provided documents on Tuesday confirming that Blythewood head football coach Jason Seidel received a one-week suspension and was reprimanded by the District as punishment for violating the school’s recruiting policy.

    Seidel

    The Voice obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.

    Richland Two launched an investigation in late January of Seidel’s interaction via Twitter with several football players at Ridge View High School in December of last year and January of this year after it was reported to Richland Two District office by Ridge View High Principal, Brenda Mack-Foxworthy. Seidel exchanged numerous tweets with the players over that time frame, encouraging them to transfer to Blythewood to play for the Bengals, according to a statement issued by Richland Two.

    The District did not at that time disclose what discipline it had meted out to Seidel.

    Seidel was missing from the sidelines of his team’s game against Fairfield Central High School on Friday, Sept. 6, and there was speculation at the time that it was the likely result of his punishment.

    Kevin Rohletter was the Bengals acting head coach for the team that evening in their 35-21 victory over the Fairfield Central Griffins.

    Documents provided Tuesday verified that Seidel received a one-week suspension in which he would be “prohibited from any activities with the team during that week, including any games the team played that week.”

    The specific week the suspension would be served was not disclosed.

    Complaints against Seidel also accused him of directing players to cover up his interactions. In one tweet, Seidel mentioned to one player to “delete our convo…”  In another conversation with a player, he said about the player’s mother “I would like to meet her when she can. I want you both comfortable. But you and your mom can’t say we met either.”

    According to District Two policy, “Recruiting of prospective students for athletic purposes is a serious ethical violation of the philosophy and ideals of interscholastic athletics and will be treated as such.”

    District Two went public on the matter only in mid-August, when local television news station WIS received word of the issue and aired a story on Seidel’s contacts on Aug. 16.

    After District Two had investigated and addressed the situation in March, Mack-Foxworth filed an appeal March 19 with Keith Price, the District’s assistant superintendent for middle schools and high schools and requested that the District send the issue to the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL), which oversees public school sports in the state. The SCHSL later said that “no violation within the S.C.H.S.L occurred” because none of the students in contact with Seidel transferred to Blythewood.

    Seidel was notified of his discipline by Richland District Two in May.

    The South Carolina High School League, which governs public school athletic programs, passed on making a decision because there was no evidence that any student transferred based on Seidel’s actions.

  • Seidel missing from sidelines

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood head football coach Jason Seidel was missing from the sidelines of his team’s game against Fairfield Central Friday, the likely result of his being punished by Richland District Two.

    Seidel

    Kevin Rohletter was the Bengals acting head coach in their 35-21 victory over the Griffins.

    When asked about the possibility that Seidel’s absence in the game Friday was a part of District Two’s discipline of the coach, District Spokesperson Libby Roof declined comment.

    Seidel’s interaction via Twitter with several football players at Ridge View and Richland Northeast high schools in December of last year and January of this year drew the attention from the media. Seidel exchanged numerous tweets with the players over that time frame, encouraging them to transfer to Blythewood and play for the Bengals.

    Further, Seidel directed players to cover up his interactions. In one tweet, Seidel mentioned to one player to “delete our convo…”  In another conversation with a player, he said about the player’s mother “I would like to meet her when she can. I want you both comfortable. But you and your mom can’t say we met either.”

    According to District Two policy, “Recruiting of prospective students for athletic purposes is a serious ethical violation of the philosophy and ideals of interscholastic athletics and will be treated as such.”

    District Two went public on the matter only in mid-August, when local television news station WIS received word of the issue and aired a story on Seidel’s contacts Aug. 16.

    The contact, explained in detail in the Voice’s Aug. 22 cover story, involved students at Ridge View and Westwood High Schools.  Ridge View principal Brenda Mack-Foxworth reported the contact Jan. 19, according to the District’s timeline of events.

    Later, after District Two had addressed the situation, Mack-Foxworth filed an appeal March 19 with the District’s assistant superintendent for middle schools and high schools and requested that the District send the issue to the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL), which oversees public school sports in the state. The SCHSL later said that “no violation within the S.C.H.S.L occurred” because none of the students in contact with Seidel transferred to Blythewood.

    Seidel was disciplined by Richland District Two in May. The Voice has submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the District to acquire Seidel’s personnel record, which is public.

    The South Carolina High School League, which governs public school athletic programs, passed on making a decision because there was no evidence that any student transferred based on Seidel’s actions.

    Three more non-region games are on the slate for Blythewood (2-1).

    The Bengals travel to North Augusta Friday, play host to Dutch Fork Sept. 20, and travel to Beaufort Sept. 27 before opening Region 4-5A play at Irmo Oct. 11.

  • BHS coach accused of recruiting RVHS players

    Some R2 Board Members Say
    They Were Not Told About Violations

    BLYTHEWOOD – An investigation aired last week by WIS-TV reported that Blythewood High School Head Coach Jason Seidel violated Richland School District Two’s “position on recruiting” by attempting to spirit away several football players from other Richland Two schools, including three from Ridge View High School, to play football for Blythewood High School.

    Seidel

    While numerous recruiting violations by Seidel reportedly occurred between mid-December, 2018 and the end of January, 2019, that information was not publicly acknowledged by the District until it was contacted on Aug. 14 by WIS which aired the story on Aug. 16.

    At least one Richland Two School Board member said she was not made aware of Seidel’s recruiting violations by administration until the day before the story appeared on WIS.

    In a statement issued last week after being contacted by WIS, Chief Communications Officer for the District, Libby Roof, reported that the District has since taken “appropriate personnel action with the coach for violations of the District’s position on recruiting.”

    The WIS report stated, however, that Ridge View High School officials were not satisfied with how the District handled the matter and, in March, 2019, appealed the District’s actions. While the District reported additional meetings with Ridge View officials and a meeting with the S.C. High School League, no further actions by the District were reported.

    Roof stated in an email to The Voice on Monday that, “at this time, the District considers the matter to be closed.”

    In a statement released last week, Roof gave a timeline of what the District knew about the reported recruitment violations and when they learned about them.

    “In January, 2019, Ridge View’s principal [Brenda Mack-Foxworth] reported possible recruitment of current football players by a Blythewood High football coach and a parent,” the District’s report stated.

    WIS reported last week that numerous tweets were exchanged between Seidel and Ridge View players during January, 2019.

    As reported by WIS, “In an exchange with Player A, on Jan. 13, Seidel stated, ‘The quicker you guys get here, the more I can do with you in the weight room.’ Seidel added, ‘Let the guys know that.’ ”

    The complete list of tweets is posted on the WIS website.

    A school district administrator conducted an investigation, according to the District’s statement, met with Seidel “and took appropriate personnel action with the coach for violations of the district’s position on recruiting,” according to the statement released by the District.

    The District’s Chief Administrative Services Officer met with Mack-Foxworth and Ridge View’s athletic director to explain that the District had informed the S.C. High School League of the possible recruitment violations, but that “SCHSL informed the district that due to the fact that the students who were contacted did not transfer, no violation with SCHSL occurred,” according to the District statement.

    Mack-Foxworth and Ridge View’s athletic director were also informed that the District had taken “appropriate personnel actions” against Seidel in response to the results of their its investigation.

    According to reports, however, Ridge View administrators were not satisfied with how Richland Two handled the matter and, in March, 2019, Mack-Foxworth submitted an appeal to the Richland Two Assistant Superintendent for middle schools and high schools to request the collection of evidence against Seidel be submitted to the SCHSL, and to verify that the consequences for the Blythewood High coach “reflect the time and resources spent in investigating” the possible recruitment violation.

    In response to Mack-Foxworth’s appeal, district administrators met with the SCHSL on April 12 “and shared the written evidence of the situation.” Again, the SCHSL confirmed that “since the students who were contacted did not transfer, no violation with SCHSL occurred. Any consequences to the coach would be left to the District.”

    The District officials will not disclose the specific actions taken against Seidel, saying, “personnel matters are confidential” and cannot be shared with Ridge View administrators.

    “Richland School District Two takes recruitment violations seriously and believes that everyone must abide by the spirit of the rule in order to remain fair, consistent and honorable throughout all of our schools’ athletic programs,” according to the District’s statement.

    The District Two athletics manual provides the following regarding recruiting: “Recruiting of prospective students for athletic purposes is a serious ethical violation of the philosophy and ideals of interscholastic athletics and will be treated as such. For purposes of this section, recruiting is defined as an attempt by an individual(s) or group associated with a school to entice a student to attend or to transfer to a school for athletic purposes through the exertion of undue influence or any special treatment.”

    The District disclosed that, at the beginning of each school year, all coaches in the district must review the district’s Athletic Staff Operations Manual and sign a form stating that they agree to read the manual and adhere to all rules and regulations.

    Seidel’s Blythewood Bengals face off against the Ridge View Blazers Friday night in the season opener at 7:30 in the District Two stadium that is located at Blythewood High School but shared by both schools.