Read the full press release from Corbin Schools by clicking here
Corbin Independent School District Superintendent Ed McNeel said Thursday that no action will be taken against the head coach of the Corbin High School football team following allegations that he wrongfully and unfair disciplined two players for wearing pink gloves to honor and remember cancer victims during a varsity game last Friday.
The decision came following a swift investigation into the claims earlier this week by Bob O’Neill, whose 15-year-old son Austin has been a starting cornerback in each of the Redhounds eight games this season. Austin and another player wore pink gloves and towels during last Friday’s home game against Bell County.
Coaches made the players remove the towels before the game. They didn’t notice the gloves until later.
After the game, O’Neill said Corbin Head Coach Steve Jewell berated his son for wearing the gloves, cursed at him, and then made him run 400 yards worth of difficult "up downs" at the next practice as punishment. He said the coach also threatened to bench Austin, calling his actions a violation of the teams uniform policy.
"There is no policy," O’Neill said. "There is no rule whatsoever. I’m getting parents together to get me photographs of kids that have on black gloves and gray gloves, red and white gloves. Why is pink banned?"
O’Neill said the punishment is discriminatory and a potential violation of his son’s free speech rights.
But Corbin Schools Superintendent Ed McNeel disagreed, saying Thursday that coach Jewell has a strict policy about game day attire, that the students knew they were violating the policy and were punished accordingly.
"[Coach Jewell] didn’t do anything wrong. He followed the rules," McNeel said. "If a coach doesn’t have rules, they would be wearing anything they want to draw attention."
In a written press release to media Thursday, McNeel notes the rule is in place to promote "team unity" and that neither player had asked for permission to wear the gloves or towels prior to the game, nor did they tell Jewell the items were intended to honor cancer victims.
He also noted that two other players were forced to do extra running for violating other team rules, and said the coach appeared to enforce his rules fairly and indiscriminantly. McNeel’s decision came following interviews with team players and coaches.
"Sometimes parents can get bent out of shape when it comes to sports, that happens to all of us," McNeel said.
For his part, O’Neill said the decision isn’t surprising. He said he spoke with some members of the Redhound coaching staff after the incident seeking an apology from Jewell, but never got one. He did not speak to Jewell directly because "he won’t talk to a parent … He’s pretty arrogant."
O’Neill went directly to the media instead with his complaints because he felt they would not be taken seriously by administrators.
"A lot of people have asked me about that, why I didn’t go to the school first,"O’Neill said. "My response to that is, when you go to the school you aren’t going to get anything done at the school. They are going to sweep everything under the rug like they always do."
O’Neill said he has filed an open records request with the school district asking for written copy of the uniform policy and copies of any emails or other written communication exchanged between coaches, staff and administrators over the incident. He said he wants Jewell to apologize publicly for his actions. In the absence of that, he plans to continue his public complaints against Jewell and plans to seek legal advice.
"I did not want it to come to this at all. All I wanted was an apology," O’Neill said.
On Friday, Jewell issued a written statement to the media. Below is the statement in its entirety:
"To fulfill a personal responsibility entirely separate from the Corbin Independent School district, I am compelled to address the recent event concerning the discipline of a Corbin High School football player.
"There has been an exorbitant amount of information put out about this incident, not all of it factual.
Many have claimed that I crushed an effort by a student to raise breast cancer awareness. I deeply regret that false perception. Nothing could be further from the truth. We cannot respect, support, or honor cancer victims and their families enough. I sincerely apologize for any undue distress this misunderstanding has caused the student and his family or any other families touched by this common enemy we all share, cancer. Every year since breast cancer awareness decals have been available (about five years), each Redhound football player has worn one on his helmet for the season as a show of support. Perhaps those decals are not visible to some, so I have purchased pink wrist bands so all players will also have those to wear.
This issue was never about a color or lack of support, but about team standards and mutuality. My coaching staff and I work hard to foster a team spirit among the players as opposed to a spirit of individuality. Part of that teamwork spirit is discipline including a standard dress code as specific as the right kind of socks, which we buy every year if necessary, hand towels that meet NFHS standards, etc. Players grow up understanding specific expectations and team management rules. Those rules are reiterated often and have consequences when broken. There is a protocol if players want to make a request beforehand concerning dress code. The request is made to the coach, who then brings the request before all the players. If the request is honored, the team as a whole participates. That is why all players have decals and wristbands.
"Being successful in promoting team spirit is a tedious job, but the benefits are monumental. Team spirit, of which proper discipline is a part, leads to average players playing above average. Nothing would make me happier than someone donating 60 pairs of pink gloves for the entire team to wear in support of breast cancer awareness. Better yet, considering the expense of gloves, donating that money to cancer research would be the best use of funds."
McNeel said he wanted to stress that neither coach Jewell nor anyone else in the district is against cancer awareness efforts. He noted that for the last four years, players on the football team have worn pink ribbon stickers on their helmets for breast cancer awareness and will continue to do so.
