MSHSL Suspends Coaches

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

The Minnesota State High School League board of directors approved one-year suspensions for five dance coaches at its board meeting Monday.

Chaska’s Kris Rydland, Eastview’s Jenny Raiche, Lakeville South’s Genevieve Adler, Wayzata’s Leslie Swiggum and former Eden Prairie coach Cara Chase were suspended for holding their teams out of the Class 3A high-kick award ceremony at the state tournament in February.

The boycott was a protest of the team championship awarded to Faribault, which was accused of stealing its winning routine from an out-of-state school.

“I think the committee members just decided we needed to make a stand on this,” MSHSL board president Scott McCready said. “That is something that was unprecedented. We haven’t seen a display like that, ever.”

More than 15 people spoke in front of the board before the vote was taken, many in support of the coaches’ decision. Some questioned whether the high school league gave the coaches due process.

“I’ve never had a chance to talk,” Chaska’s Rydland said. “The chance would have been welcomed by all four head coaches. … Our hope is that we all have the same goal — the continued betterment of our sport.”

Wayzata activities director Jaime Sherwood asked the MSHSL to take more time on the issue before voting. Board member Troy Urdahl was willing to oblige with that request.

“I’m a bit uncomfortable with what I have in front of me,” Urdahl said of the motion. “They wish for more time

I don’t know if this is a warranted consequence or an unwarranted consequence. … I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.”

But Faribault activities director Ken Hubert said more time and a further investigation was unnecessary.

“I believe that the coaches at these schools are very good people,” Hubert said. “Very good people sometimes make a mistake. In this case, I really do believe that happened here.”

Faribault dance coach Lois Krinke said her squad would have abided by whatever ruling the league handed down.

“We’re just glad to have this all behind us,” she said. “Now, hopefully, everybody can move on.”

A few individual schools and districts previously held their own investigations into the incident and handed down reprimands. The head coaches at Wayzata, Eastview and Chaska reportedly were already suspended for next season’s first two meets.

McCready said the board read the reports created by each school’s activities director.

“It’s not like this was alleged,” he said. “There were five teams bunched together and refused to come forward.”

The activities directors at the offending schools will receive letters of censure, and the suspended coaches must complete a “Why We Play” in-service session before returning to their posts.

McCready said a lifetime ban was discussed, but the committee agreed that would have been too much.

“We wanted to be reasonable, but we also realized how serious it was,” he said. “We’ve had other unsportsmanlike behaviors, but nothing to that degree. We just felt like there had to be something stern.”

Dancers from second-place Wayzata and third-place Eastview did not receive their medals on the night of the tournament.

Sherwood asked for the return of those medals at the meeting.

“They did nothing wrong, and I would like to have them have their medals,” a teary Sherwood said, and the board unanimously approved a motion to deliver the medals to the dancers.

Chase and the rest of Eden Prairie’s coaching staff resigned after the incident.