You would think a high school guidance counselor would know better. Pat Lynch, who also served as the head football coach at Buffalo (Wyo.) High School, has resigned after distributing an offensive questionnaire to players.
Called the "Hurt Feelings Report," the sarcastic survey was handed out prior to a playoff game last month and used homophobic and sexist language to ask individual players if he suffered "permanent feeling damage" and if he needed "a tissue for the tears." The form, which used lewd language and may be offensive to some readers, also contained nine boxes to check as "reasons for filing this report," including "I am a pussy," "I am a cry baby," "I am a queer," "I want my mommy" and "I am a little bitch." Below that list was a line for the "name of 'Real Man' who hurt your sensitive little feelings." And at the bottom, three lines were available for signatures: the "name [of] little sissy filing report," "girly-man signature," "real-man signature."
Varying versions of the form are in circulation on the Internet and can easily be downloaded and printed. Here is the one Lynch used:
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"[Lynch] screwed up, he screwed up big time," Johnson County School District 1 superintendent Rod Kessler told the Wyoming Star-Tribune. "None of us are happy that it happened. It's a black eye to the district. And it's a black eye to Pat."
News of the incident got back to the school board, Kessler told The Huffington Post, through word of mouth and community response - followed by an admission from the coach.
A letter of a apology from Lynch - who had been head coach at Buffalo for more than 13 seasons and led the Bisons to two state titles in 2004 and 2005 - was read at a public school board meeting last week and obtained by news outlets: "I would like to apologize for my lapse in judgment and the poor choice that I made from my position as the Head Football Coach for Buffalo High School," the statement said. "I know that this situation has caused you pain and discomfort, and for that I am truly sorry. As a person and a professional, I believe I will learn and grow from this experience and use it to help others. I appreciate having had the opportunity to coach in this community for the past 22 years. It has been a rewarding experience. I am eager to earn back your trust as I continue to serve in a profession that I truly love."
As for the board's decision to retain Lynch as a guidance counselor at the school, district officials are not commenting. "We've definitely classified that as a personnel matter," Buffalo High principal Chad Bourgeois told ABCNews.com.
