Ask yourself these questions while you scan the details: Where in the name of all that is right were the parents? Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. The donors and contributors to this school should be identified. However, the school often had no teachers in the classrooms; little, if any homework was ever given, and the players received full class credit. KingCo will vacate Bellevues conference titles if the WIAA determines that state championships should be forfeited. Video Highlights of State Championship New coaching staff of young alumni lead Bellevue back to state football championship glory In 2012, Freeman was among 17 boys pictured in the sophomore, junior and senior pages of an Academic Institute yearbook reviewed by the Times. A high school state football championship in Texas is arguably about more than just temporary bragging rights. Published: Oct. 14, 2022 at 6:55 PM PDT. 1 Bellevue back into 3A state semifinals: 4 observations, Week 11 Playoff Matchups - Bellevue 42, Lakes 21, (Nov 12, 2021), This website is powered by SportsEngine's. Weve seen a couple of surveys about Seattles happiness rating, one shows us near the top for happiness, and one has us closer to the bottom. 4. The KingCo Conference report, released earlier this week, said that while players were illegally recruited to play for Bellevue, some used false addresses to be eligible within Bellevues residential district. Im so happy and proud of all of them. 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. Arguably one of the best high school teams ever fielded in Texas, the 1988 Dallas Carter Cowboys were loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. Senior running back William Wang rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns to lead Bellevue to a 3A state championship win over Kennewick on Saturday afternoon at Sparks Stadium. Bellevue will be on bye this week, ahead of a Week 9 home game against Hazen to finish off the regular season. The win marks a return to the top for a former state juggernaut that won eight state championships from 2001 to 2011. 2023 Bonneville International. 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. Video Highlights of State Championship New coaching staff of young alumni lead Bellevue back to state football championship glory While the Institute touts its focus on education at a full-time cost of $1,750 per month two former teachers label Academic Institute a diploma mill that doesnt adhere to basic educational standards. And oh, by the way, how is it fair that a public school has limits on the geographic locations of its players homes,but private schools players can live anywhere? Bellevue can appeal for that sanction to be reduced one year early. The events took place under the watch of school district officials who conceded that discounted tuition for athletes would constitute a violation of state athletic rules, a district document shows. This isnt a player finding $100 cash in his locker. Members of the booster club have criticized the investigation, which was conducted bytwo former federal prosecutors hired by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). ', "The Bellevue School District said only one charge was valid and that was the compensation to Goncharoff, and so they recommended his firing. Our guys played pretty well, its just about getting better., Then, on Monday, the LW JV made the opposite trip, visiting BHS. Amazing game and ending for Bellevue Wolverines,
They said Goncharoff never gave the family money to pay for rent. "They said four years of probation for the entire athletic department, a four-year ban for football on postseason play, and also non-conference play, as well as inviting any out-of-state opponents to play Bellevue High School. An investigation released Tuesday revealed significant and long-standing violations by the Bellevue High School football program. November 4, 2022. Final score 42-0. GSBA, Comcast, and other partners are working to address disparities in access to financial resources with the Ready for Business fund. Sanctions need to be put in place against the school as well as the BHS booster club to ensure the high-school programs for our conference and state are fair, as all sports should be. Due to state-wide ref shortages, the Wolverines trip to the jungle at Mercer Island High School was moved from Friday night to Thursday. The parents disputed Freemans account in which he said his father had asked him to thank Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff for helping pay rent. Which spelled out who could live in certain neighborhoods. We hear stories about competing schools. In 2003 Thiel wrote the definitive book about the Seattle Mariners, Out of Left Field, which became a regional bestseller. These efforts were and are fully within the rules., The boosters vowed to continue to fight. All Rights Reserved. Butch Goncharoff is banned from coaching in Washington State, 3. The movie portrayed the girls as ruthless in their quest to run the school. Lots of work to be done to get where we want to be, though. The long-running nature of the corruption uncovered by this investigation could only have occurred with the explicit or tacit approval of Bellevue High Schooland Bellevue School District administrators, as the reportvividly details. 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. His older brother became vice president of the teams booster club. "He's still a vital part of the picture. At least 17 Bellevue football players attended the program over the past seven years, the Seattle Times has learned. Yesterday Kendall Alston, age 31, was sentenced in federal court to five years for selling fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle. For a paltry $1,750 tuition per month, these student athletes supposedly got academic help. football coach makes appeal after ban. Final score: 48-14, Bellevue. Embattled Bellevue High School football coaches took another hit Friday as an executive board made up of high school principals increased penalties for the head . It is high time to clean up this mess. Staff reporter Mike Baker contributed to this report. Luke Scoma wins it for Bellevue with his 43-yard field goal in Wolverines' 22-20 win over Lincoln of Tacoma in Class 3A quarterfinals. Editors note: After the original Seattle Times article of Aug. 23 the newspaper followed up with another article in which the parents of Darien Freeman disputed portions of the first article that were attributed to their son. You can read the Times' entire investigation here. This decision is unfair to the players who are the heart and soul of this program. On the first play from scrimmage, freshman Max Jones took a handoff 65 yards to the house, and the JV squad never looked back. The train wreck at Bellevue may be symbolic of much that is wrong with high school and college athletics and the creation of the entitled teenager and the grotesque flow of money into amateur sports. The silver lining from one of the biggest scandals in Texas high school football history is the number of players who went on to continue their football careers in college. The specifics of what happened is more symbolic of what is preposterously wrong with parents who lack the ability to teach their kids the responsibilities of being a student athlete. John Connors told supporters over the weekend that litigation may be necessary to protect the program, Seattle Times story detailed how numerous Bellevue players had taken classes at The Academic Institute, a private alternative school. This is a public high school and a strong message needs to be sent that this type of practice cannot be tolerated. Freemans parents criticized the Times reporters who wrote the Bellevue High story, saying they hounded and harassed their son and tricked him into saying things that he has no knowledge of. He is a member of the Football Writers Association of America, and is a voting panelist for the Outland Trophy, the Nagurski Award, and the Biletnikoff Award. Lake Washington Windows and Doors is a local window dealer offering the exclusive Leak Armor installation. Freeman described in detail the hours he spent busing from Auburn to Bellevue, catching a 5:30 a.m. bus to start class around 8:15. That would be a likely violation of rules that generally require student-athletes to live within a schools attendance boundary. Final score: 20-14, bringing the JV to 1-1. KPLU sports commentator Art Thiel says it's a symptom of a much bigger problem.Media Probe The Seattle [] Coach Kneip on the game, We had a great, physical week of practice, and it really paid off. The parents confirmed in their letter that they received financial support, but said they properly requested aid from the school. Now, we cannot be completely naive. KingCo left the question of whether Bellevue should forfeit state titles up to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). A native of Southern California, now living in North Carolina, he has been working in broadcast, print and digital media for nearly 30 years. 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. Any booster associated with this mess be banned from any financial or booster club membership for two years. Darien Freeman has not returned multiple messages left for him last week. McKinney North Principal Linda Thret was the mom of one of the Fab Five and eventually resigned due to mounting pressure over her lack of discipline with the group. The Times found at least three instances in which families of players attending the school were either given financial assistance by the team's boosters or didn't pay for the tuition themselves, a violation of state athletic rules. After the half, the BHS offense really got rolling, including a 44-yard TD run from junior Blake Teets, a 24-yard TD run from sophomore Ryken Moon, and a screen pass from Razore that junior Cal Zimmerman took 21 yards to pay dirt. On November 10, the UIL shocked Dallas Carter and the entire state when they announced the Cowboys were ineligible for the playoffs. Bellevues head coach and athletic director be fired immediately, 2. Bellevue H.S. Sports news, analysis, opinions, and rumors. Until 1968, Washington state allowed restrictive housing covenants. It should be a Homecoming to remember!