Dan Chesnet Sports Editor
A third-party investigation into the conduct of former Belgrade head football coach Jeremy Curry found his language and demeanor were inappropriate but that there was not an issue with the program's culture.
Kevin Twidwell, an attorney at Kaleva Law Office in Missoula, conducted interviews with players, parents, members of the coaching staff and district personnel over two days in late October. Belgrade Superintendent Dede Semerad revealed his findings, and the district's response, in an email to parents and staff Monday evening.
"In summary, the investigator found that although the former head coach brought several positive attributes to the football team, it was his use of profane language and questionable motivational tactics, not the culture of the program, that were inappropriate for a high school team," Semerad wrote.
Curry voluntarily resigned after a physical altercation with a player at practice on Oct. 16. According to multiple players who spoke to the Belgrade News on the condition of anonymity, the first-year coach body slammed a senior player after the two had squared up face to face during a verbal argument and the player shoved Curry in the chest. Once on the ground, the player punched Curry before the fight was broken up by teammates.
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Four days later, a profanity-laced halftime speech by Curry surfaced online. The uncredited video, taken at halftime of Belgrade's home game against the Gallatin Raptors on Oct. 11, shows Curry berating the team in the locker room. The 40-second clip begins with Curry entering from the right side of the frame and saying: "OK, so you sit the f**k out here and you m***********s figure it out."
Curry continued to scold the team for another 30 seconds, including 13 more expletives, before walking off screen and the video ends.
Semerad sent an email to parents the following day stating: "The coach's behavior does not reflect the values of the Belgrade Community and was unacceptable." She added that the district planned to hire an independent third-party to investigate and "ensure an unbiased assessment of the recent events."
According to Monday's email, Twidwell made the following conclusions following his investigation:
* The majority of the players, parents, and assistant coaches interviewed were optimistic about the future of the football program and viewed the former head coach in a positive manner in the preseason.
* The language used by the coach captured on video and widely distributed in the community was commonplace on and off the field and violated the Belgrade School District Coaches Athletic Handbook.
* Although many of the students and parents interviewed were not upset by the coach's use of the actual swear words themselves, they felt the coach, at times, used those words to demean and degrade the students.
* Concerns from players, parents, and assistant coaches were not brought to the administrators.
In response, Semerad said the school district will take the following actions:
* Review and revise the Coaches Athletic Handbook to further clarify the expectations regarding the use of offensive language or swearing by coaches.
* Review and revise the training requirements for all coaches and assistant coaches, especially in the areas of age-appropriate motivational techniques.
* Review and revise both the Coaches and Parent Athletic Handbooks to better inform players, parents and assistant coaches about the steps to take to bring concerns and complaints about inappropriate behavior to the school administration, and that retaliation in any form is prohibited and should also be reported if it were to occur.
* Review and revise the supervision and evaluation practices by school administrators to provide additional oversight of coaching staff during practices and games to ensure compliance with the Athletic Handbook and district policies.
Monday's email did not address the physical altercation that took place at practice and Semerad did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether Curry had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
But less than 48 hours after the incident the school district released the following statement:
"This message is to clarify and update the widely-reported incident that took place at a Belgrade High School football practice on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
"The media reports were not accurate, and there is no evidence that the coach engaged in any inappropriate conduct. A student player assaulted the head football coach to the degree that he required medical attention. The coach defended himself during the assault, and his defense to the assault did not violate law or District policy. The coach voluntarily resigned his position due to the severity of the incident."
The News stands by its reporting of the incident.
Eric Kinnaman, an assistant for Curry and former head coach of the Panthers, served as interim head coach for the team's final two games of the season.
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