Sophomore Ryken Moon took the opening kickoff back for a TD, junior Colin Miller had an interception, junior Luke Soma added a field goal, and junior Cal Zimmerman had his own pick-6. The players reportedly got the steroids from a dealer named Big Mike who was a fitness trainer. Bellevue High School in Bellevue, Washington is one of the most successful high school football programs in the country, with 11 state titles in 15 years, a 67-game winning streak covering some of that period and a national footprint that has had them playing on ESPN. With their sights set on a state championship run, the Cowboys began preparing for the playoffs. Bellevue High School has established itself as one of the premier prep football programs in the nation with 11 state titles in the past 15 years. Some prominent college football players are named in the report as having been cycled through The Academic Institute. Senior William Wang piled up 182 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 32 carries, and the Bellevue defense was tough as the top-seeded Wolverines laid a 27-3 licking on No. Here is a selection of the responses we received: Bellevue High Schools titles need to be removed. Go re-read this story, and you will have your answers. Bellevue High School Football KingCo will have stricter guidelines and oversight for incoming transfer student-athletes for two years. Often it would be well past dark by the time he returned home. Amazing game and ending for Bellevue Wolverines, Rescind the championship titles, and ban the team from any post-season playoffs for five years. Saint Mary's guard Logan Johnson knows both sides of the Zags-Gaels rivalry, 35-year-old loved his dog, the outdoors and his mother who is accused of killing him, Accused killer returns to Spokane to face murder charge in 40-year-old South Hill cold case. And then there is the claim within the report that some of the misdeeds were not so secretive; they were just direct cash payments to families to get players to Bellevue. In all, six players were connected with 21 robberies that occurred in Carter neighborhoods. But KingCo officials saw Bellevues problems as requiring more severe sanctions. bellevue high school football scandal - scrapcinema.fr It should be a Homecoming to remember! At least two families of football players received tuition assistance coordinated by the teams wealthy supporters, according to interviews and documents. Yusef Freeman did not return a call Friday seeking comment on his letter. Bellevue can appeal for that sanction to be reduced one year early. Bellevue will be on bye this week, ahead of a Week 9 home game against Hazen to finish off the regular season. How did the adults never ask how it was that their kid was taking classes in a $1,750 per month school, yet they never got a tuition bill? More of the money went to pay for school; the kind with no real academics. Lets be reasonable., The wrong-headed parts of the Bellevue High Schoolfootball program continued for far too long. One player who attended the Institute told the Times he took one class without a teacher, and the school's director gave him a book and test questions to study. Top-ranked 3A Wolverines get all they want for three-plus quarters, but Wing-T (342 rushing yards) generates big fourth-quarter scoring plays to pull away. Thanks to state-wide referee shortages, the Wolverines had to reschedule their weekly Friday night appointment to Saturday. The Times uncovered 17 instances. ONeil, however, says its misguided to think playing for Bellevue will be a ticket to free higher education, even if its a slightly more noble idea than parents creating super teams to win high school championships. The scandal rocked the affluent community and brought awareness to steroid use by teens. That would be easy. The players reportedly said the refereewas using racial slurs and said they were instructed to hit the ref by their coach, Mack Breed. Darien Freeman had said he lived in that city during his 2009-10 freshman season. All rights reserved. A player for Stamford, Wendell Robinson, lived in the towns fire station and continued to play for the school after his parents moved away from Stamford. This isnt just about high school sports. He's not going quietly. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. It was a reminder of the Wolverines glorious past that got them fired up this week thanks to comments from Marysville-Pilchuck star running back Dylan Carson that fueled them for Saturdays matchup. In 2009, along with Steve Rudman and KJR 950 afternoon host Mike Gastineau, Thiel authored The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists, a cross between historylink.org and Mad Magazine that has become mandatory reading for any sports fan who has an indoor bathroom. Did The Truth Even Matter: The Real Bellevue Football Story (Did The We love to see the kids have fun and play ball. Good kids and families participated in Bellevuefootball, but there were also some people who stepped over the line. The western-themed student section brought the energy all night, and the Wolverines did not disappoint. Under ominous clouds and heavy winds, the Wolverines took the field in their electric yellow uniforms, to face the visiting Snohomish Panthers in a Week 10 crossover game. Back to work tomorrow!. Later, when the family lived in SeaTac, he said, his mother would drop him off at a bus stop in Renton to commute. Edwards was sentenced to 16 years and never played another down of football. Many would perhaps have fallen through the cracks had it not been for the help they received when it was obvious to coaches they needed a little boost. With the pregame pageantry and TV interviews done, the Wolverines got to work making the Big Game a big blowout. One son married a runner-up from The Bachelor TV show and became an assistant football coach at Bellevue. Bellevue school officials have previously told Bellevue head coach Butch Goncharoff that the district will seek to terminate him for violations of district policies. Darien Freeman has not returned multiple messages left for him last week. Along the way, competitors have complained that Bellevue was bending the rules. He openly shared details of his high school experiences, saying he felt like the program was putting kids in a poor position to succeed after high school and that he didnt want to see the program have a negative impact on others in the future. Allow only the students living within the boundaries to participate. It was so one-sided and evident that something was different about this team in comparison to the other nine teams Liberty played against., For every year they won the state championship, that should be the number of years they are not qualified to compete in theplayoffs. Finally, in the fourth quarter, Kaden Matsudaira was featured in a long drive, culminating in a 3-yard TD run to put an exclamation point on the game. You depend on KNKX for trusted, in-depth local news, music by knowledgeable hosts and enlightening NPR programs. 2023 Bonneville International. To do whats best for your kid, he said. "He's still a vital part of the picture. Blame needs to fall primarily on Bellevue High School. We asked readers for their thoughts on what repercussions the Bellevue football program should face, as well as what the scandal says about high-school sports. Records reviewed by the Seattle Times, however, show that Freemans father has had a home address in Auburn. 5 seeded Wolverines (8-2) walloped No. Players attend the school for academics but are allowed to play football at Bellevue if they live in the proper district. You can read the Times' entire investigation here. After the Seattle Times story was published on Sunday, a distraught Darien Freeman called a Times reporter, saying hed just spoken with Goncharoff. The players spent 75 days in the districts alternative school after the incident. Bellevue football scandal: Readers weigh in on possible sanctions Bellevue High football: Team reportedly aided by diploma mill - Sports The investigators report and your editorial finally nailed it.. In January of 1991, after the UIL completed their investigation and the legal battle ended, Dallas Carter was stripped of their title and Converse Judson was named the 1988 5A champions. In addition to prohibiting the Bellevue football program from receiving donations, the KingCo committee said: Bellevue is not allowed to play any nonleague football games and will be limited to Class 3A league games for two seasons. Sat Nov 26 L . Two former teachers told the Times the Academic Institute doesnt adhere to basic educational standards. Players need a 2.0 GPA with no more than one failing class to compete athletically. At the crux of the scandal is a well to-do family that made their money in the trash/waste management industry. Bellevue footballs promotion of a culture of cheating is a broadly understood fact. The newspaper further documented its original article: The parents of a former Bellevue High School football player have disputed their sons account of his time on the team, calling a Sunday Seattle Times articleon the subject false and misleading.. Rantz says he doesnt blame the parents whatsoever. Dinner and dancing may have been the order of the day on Saturday, but on Friday night, Wolverine students packed the stands to see the Bellevue High football team demolish their crosstown rival Newport Knights. From changing grades and playing ineligible players to substance abuse and violence, these five scandals marred the face of the king of all sports in Texas. Kirsten Kendrick has been hosting Morning Edition on KNKX/KPLU since 2006. The evidence shows that the practices KingCo now is penalizing including summer sports camps for kids and paying coaches for extra work outside of the season were approved by Bellevue School District and are shared by many, many area schools, the statement said. Report: Bellevue football coaches violated rules for years Just one play into Hazens opening drive, senior Joel Schneider made an acrobatic interception, which moments later led to a sight thats become the terror of KingCo 3A: an Ishaan Daniels long run and touchdown this time from 63 yards. These efforts were and are fully within the rules., The boosters vowed to continue to fight. Video Highlights of State Championship New coaching staff of young alumni lead Bellevue back to state football championship glory The Wolverines got off to their usual fast start, with a whopping three rushing touchdowns from Ishaan Daniels, another from Carson Rubin, and a passing TD from Lucas Razore to Hogan Hansen. This is another example of the incredibly flawed process that has been guiding this investigation for months. They say proposed project will negatively impact Minidoka internment camp site. Department of Commerce officials say communities will need diverse housing options in the future as well. "And if you can wiggle around with all of these variances in the rules, then they've got a real problem.". 10 Texas Athletes Are Sentenced to Jail Terms for Robberies PF 497 PA 185 STREAK 1L. And because it's now going to be subject to many lawsuits, there's going to be huge pressure and there should be huge pressure to reform the entire structure of state high school sports. Bellevue football decimated the available pool of players for both Sammamish and Interlake for years to the point of Sammamish forfeiting games at the varsity level in 2015. Tornados drive 94 yards on 16 plays, capped by Damian Aalona's 1-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown, to win action-packed Class 3A semifinal game at Art Crate Field. The Bellevue High (Seattle) football team is reportedly aided through a "diploma mill" private school, according to an investigation by The Seattle Times . Ask yourself these questions while you scan the details: Where in the name of all that is right were the parents? "The report then went to a panel of KingCo Conference athletic directors. Updated: 7:13 PM PDT July 8, 2016. However, the school often had no teachers in the classrooms; little, if any homework was ever given, and the players received full class credit. SEATTLE An independent investigation into the Bellevue High football team uncovered "significant and long-standing violations" of state sports rules and extensive evidence that the team's.