I share the same concern about his ability to be a guidance counselor. If this is his style of leadership or mentoring, what is he going to do to the other students in the school. This type of cultural ignorance would not be allowed in any business, state or federal government job. Yet this is allowed in the educational system. If the decision was not to terminate his position, I would much rather see him as the football coach than a high school counselor.

While some think it is unnecessary for small town drama to play out on a national stage I'm beyond frustrated by this topic. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident - which is not excusing this specific incident - this councilor (he's a councilor first, coach second) should be fired. Sports rule in this world and we only continue to breed a culture of it when we let coaches and school officials teach and allow this type of ugly behavior.

It's laughable the school board and superintendent think they have taken action, according to other sources on the story, all they have done is accept a resignation - that's not action. Ug! Bullying needs to be taken seriously and if no action is taken by those who have authority they should go too! My guess is this isn't the only form of bullying going on in that school authority figures with do nothing officials.....where does it bend? Where's the moral compass?

The past couple of weeks have brought sports at all levels into public scrutiny and it seems that the recurring theme is that sports allows these individuals to perpetrate these crimes. I disagree to a very large extent , sports are a microcosm of society and they're not immune to the ills that plague society so it follows that this kind of behavior exists.It's when people choose to to omit reporting these atrocities that leads to the misconception that sports are held to a higher standard 'people ' neglect their civic duty to report these despicable behaviors.

After that, he's the school counsellor? All I can write is, WTF?

If this would have been seen in an adult workplace, many would have found this mildly amusing - which is why it's on the Internet as a joke. It may not be to your taste or mine, but somebody somewhere thought this was funny. That it was given to children to fill out is appalling and demeaning in a time when they are forming appropriate social behaviors. For the guidance counselor to be fired is a little extreme. He now has a real-life example of what not to do and can pass that effectively along to his students. It's better to be led by a man who can admit he screwed up, than a hypocrite who teaches children that adults are never wrong and life is perfect after the age of 20.

He needs to be fired, he's a 22 year veteran in education this cant be taken as a learning experience...too late for that! He needs his teaching and coaching license revoked as well. Time to stop giving second chances for stupidity and giving the rest of us in the athletic world a black eye.

@ANNE-MARIE:

Pat Lynch did not apologize to kids who are bullied. I repeat, he didn't apologize to those who were the most affected by his deliberately hateful actions. All he did was apologize for embarrassing the school district. He also gives coaches a bad name. When he handed copies of his 'HURT FEELINGS REPORT' to his players, he was encouraging them to bully other students. Revealing his true feelings, he has shown himself to be an authority figure who has no problem whatsoever with bullying. Has he set a good example for the students who attend the school where he's still employed? Would a student bullied at the school ever feel free to turn to him for help? In so many words, he has told the whole world that he views bullied kids with contempt. I suspect he was a bully when he was a teenager. This jerk may apologize to save face, but his attitudes about bullying have not changed. Why would they? Simply because he's embarrassed himself publicly? The cat's been let out of the bag, so to speak. Suppose, for example, he had made anti-Semitic comments to his players at a school attended by a large number of Jewish students. Even if he apologized to the school board, he would still be fired because his effectiveness in dealing with students would be irreparably compromised. No one, except other anti-Semites, would question his dismissal. But since Lynch clearly has shown himself to be a defender of bullying, people defend him because it's no big deal to them. But this is not about political correctness. This is about molding the character of our kids.

@Bill - Wow! Really? You just likened this coach/guidance counselor to a racist now? Taking things too far maybe?

This guy was coaching FOOTBALL, a game primarily designed for physical contact, often in an extremely unfriendly way. There is no way this 'memo' was intended to encourage bullying! What a joke!

The memo, while sent in very bad taste, clearly was intended to send a message to his football players to stop carrying jello emotions. You can't play an extremely physical sport and cry over every little 'boo-boo' and 'ouchie' that occurs...physically or emotionally.

The memo was in very poor taste and probably offensive to some. But, while I find the memo tasteless, I take no offense to it, because I don't let words bother me. What was that saying, Bill, 'sticks and stones...'

So, whats next on the agenda, Bill? Maybe we need to eliminate football altogether because afterall everyone on the field is getting together and ganging up on one player randomly to hit him. Clealy that must be bullying as well?!?!? (And quite possibly even anti-semitic if the player getting tackled is Jewish or ractist if he happens to be African American). Oh, the horror!

Its a big cruel world, maybe we need to require everyone to walk around wearing multiple layers of bubble-wrap?

@BILL’S GONE CRAZY!:

Your reaction to my post is itself a bit hysterical and seems to indicate some insecurity on your part. Otherwise, why would you have even bothered responding to it? I should be flattered to receive such attention.

You should calm down and not allow your blood pressure to get so high. This should help: I think Lynch should have been allowed to keep his coaching job, but be fired as a guidance counselor. If I had been the principal, I would have been interested in finding out WHY he handed out the “form.” There, now. Does that make you feel better? I hope so.

Your mini-lecture on football is quite amusing. I had no idea I was so uninformed. I didn’t know there was a movement to ban football from the schools. I should have suspected as much, given that high-school football players receive so little appreciation. So, I appreciate your taking the time to inform me.

Seriously, perhaps you’re right about Lynch’s intent. I must admit that is a possibility. If I were convinced that was true, I wouldn’t have posted here. But I’m not convinced that is so, as he’s not said why he passed the 'form' out to his players. Perhaps, instead, he was sharing a different sort of 'joke' with them. Some coaches insist their players follow a strict code regarding their conduct off the playing field. Other coaches have no problem with any of their players bullying physically weaker, nonathletic students. I know this for a fact.

As you know, in recent years there’s been a lot of concern expressed about bullying in the schools. There’s been debate over the effectiveness of certain programs. Sadly, some adults have no problem with bullying, especially when the bullies are “popular.” These people make comments such as “Bullying is part of life,” “Boys will be boys,” and “The victims bring it upon themselves.” They say nothing should be done about bullying. They believe it to be harmless. Bullied kids should just be left alone to fend for themselves. Never mind that some of them might not receive any support at home.

I read the “form” carefully. As Rush Limbaugh says, words have meaning. The “form” obviously was created in reaction to anti-bullying policies being put into effect in schools. Try to stop obsessing over football for a moment and read the “form” again. There is no mention anywhere about players complaining about bruises or whatever. There’s no denying that it mocks bullied kids, even those who are physically bullied. (See the artwork with the black eye and the drop of blood.) Note the victims are called “girly men” and the bullies are called “real men.” (Wow! I didn’t know one of the characteristics of “real men” was to hurt others. I should have known better.) Incidentally, as far as queers are concerned, homosexual men have always participated in sports, including rough contact sports like football. Horrors! I hope that revelation doesn’t shock you too much. (And, no, I’m not gay. Sorry you can’t use that line.)

As for me, I’m not bullied -- being as I’m not a kid, but a man in his early 60s (who, incidentally, works out at a health club). I object to the “form” because I don’t like kids being hurt. I suspect the reason why the “form” doesn’t bother you is because you have no problem with bullying.

You say “I don’t let words bother me.” Well, you sure let MY words bother you! :lol: Stop being so SENSITIVE. After all, as we all know, sensitivity (including that shown towards others instead of towards oneself) is a FEMININE trait. Stop being such a fem!

The first time a kid goes to him for advice and says, 'My dad continually berates me to the point where I have no self-esteem left', is he going to say to the kid, 'Suck it up. Do you want your mommy, you crybaby, bitch pussy! Do you want a crying towel?'

Yeah!

'Get outta my office, ya sissy! Stop wastin' my time!'

:lol: