Post Falls (Idaho) High School has suspended several football players and removed them from the team for participating in a photo that shows two students in helmets and jerseys pointing airsoft guns at the head of another player dressed as a Coeur d’Alene High School football player.
As reported by The Spokesman-Review of Spokan, Wash., Post Falls police say the photo, taken as part of a media day for the school football team, was reported Sept. 4 on an online platform frequented by students and parents involved with the football team The photo was reported to a district employee, who reported it to the Post Falls Police Department.
“As a parent of teenagers, what I wouldn’t want to see is normalizing things like what are depicted in that photo,” Post Falls Patrol lieutenant Brian Harrison said. “Especially in this day and age where you see town after town popping up with school shootings or things like that. I think that there’s a danger in normalizing something like that and being totally dismissive of it saying, ‘Hey, boys will be boys.’ ”
The violent imagery shows what is supposed to be a Coeur d’Alene Vikings player kneeling on the Post Falls High School football field with his hands up, apparently in surrender, as two Post Falls players stand on either side of him aiming pistols execution-style at his head, Emily White of The Spokesman-Review reported.
The two schools are scheduled to play Oct. 17 in Coeur d’Alene.
The school district would not say who took the photo, including whether any school employees were involved.
Bringing a weapon, including simulated weapons, on school grounds automatically results in a one-year expulsion, according to Post Falls School District Board policy. However, the policy does allow for discretion if the school board decides the student’s presence does not pose a safety risk to other students, White reported.
In this case, the board did decide to deviate from expelling the students involved and held a private hearing with school administration, the involved students and their parents, according to the district.
The current board has always acted unanimously when making disciplinary decisions, The Post Falls School Board said in a letter released ahead of the protest.
On Tuesday, dozens of parents and students gathered outside the high school to protest the school’s disciplinary decision, saying that the punishment was too harsh – particularly for the senior players involved.
“I think the punishment was a bit extreme, but I think they (the football players) shouldn’t have done it, and it’s kind of common sense not to do that,” freshman Grace Everingham said, as reported by The Spokesman-Review.
“We know the Post Falls community has questions about the recent disciplinary action taken by the board. Please know we do hear you, but by federal law, we cannot share specifics about disciplinary matters involving students,” the board wrote in a letter release ahead of the protest.
The letter also says that no school employee, including the district’s superintendent, Dena Naccarato, had any say in the disciplinary decisions made by the board, White reported.
“Post Falls district leaders have addressed the matter with their school board and continue to manage any follow-up directly. They will keep us updated as appropriate, but any response to stakeholders is being handled within their district,” Coeur d’Alene School District communications director Stefany Bales wrote in a statement, as reported by The Spokesman-Review.
Following an investigation, Post Falls police determined that the photo was not criminal in nature and did not move forward with any criminal charges.
“I think anytime somebody brings something that resembles a weapon or is a weapon on to school grounds is cause for concern,” Harrison said. “If the context or the situation were different, somebody could have caught a criminal charge. There’s a difference between bringing a gun to the cafeteria and waving it around at lunchtime verses having it out at the football field.”
