Wow. McKenney out at JD | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Wow. McKenney out at JD

Cheriehoop said:
Not quite true .
Expand...
JD is known for "suggesting" that a 6'8 freshman "move in" with his "grandmother" who conveniently lives in an apartment complex on the DeWitt/City of Syracuse line right off of Erie Blvd. Still, Triche and Coleman are once in 30 year players who happened to play right after each other and I think unrealistic expectations set in for some JD parents and supporters that they should be that good every year. Brandon Triche ain't walkin through that door.
 
OrangeXtreme said:
Parents-only meeting precedes Jamesville-DeWitt ultimatum to Bob McKenney (PS: Webb)

On the eve of what may well have been Bob McKenney's final game as head coach of the Jamesville-DeWitt High School boys basketball team, there was a strategy session.

Only this one was attended by some parents of the Jamesville-DeWitt basketball team upset over how their coach had handled a discipline matter with a senior player.

The Red Rams lost the Section III Class AA game to Christian Brothers Academy.

Two days later, the J-D administration gave McKenney an ultimatum: resign or be fired.

How did it get to this so fast?
Expand...

That article is terrible. I still have no idea the exact events of what happened. LOL
 
What the hell is the matter with their AD? Way to back up the coach! Do those parents in that secret meeting have a candidate for new head coach? Will that coach report to the parents?
 
My brother in law coaches high school basketball in section 2. It's a thankless job. He loves the kids, but the adults have consistently cause him problems the last couple of years, with playing time and running their mouth to their influences behind his back.
 
My daughter also coaches varsity girls basketball in sec 4, and yes it's pretty much the same. In fact, before try-outs even began she was getting emails from parents about playing time as if their daughters had already made the team. The parents act more entitled than the girls do!
 
TOL22 said:
What the hell is the matter with their AD? Way to back up the coach! Do those parents in that secret meeting have a candidate for new head coach? Will that coach report to the parents?
Expand...

lg_shumpert_ap-01.jpg
 
TOL22 said:
I read that yesterday. Isn't he at CBA?
Expand...

If he is at CBA, he probably lives pretty darn close to the JD school district, if not in it.

Would be an absolute travesty if it happened.
 
Interesting but lengthy comment from the PS article:

JD Parent 13214 51 minutes ago

I told myself yesterday that I wasn’t going to get involved in this online circus, but after reading SIX articles on the exact same topic, and reading the 300 and counting comments across those six articles, I feel compelled to provide my two cents. I have children at JD, but none play on the basketball team. I know almost all of the players on this team, and my children have been friends with many of these players and their families since elementary school. It saddens me greatly to see the players and parents put through this online witch-hunt.

What I am about to say will not be popular with 290 or so of the 300 people who have commented on these articles, but here goes: The only person responsible for Coach McKenney’s situation is Coach McKenney. Not the parents, not the administration, and certainly not the players.

I don’t think there is a single parent on the team with enough clout to get a coach fired, and that includes Jim Boeheim. Even if he could, do you really think Mr. Boeheim would want his name attached to this mess? He’s got enough on his plate, and his son had a great season. His son was a starter as a junior, and he was the team’s third leading scorer.

Does anyone really think that the Superintendent would want to fire a long-time coach, with a great record, based on the complaints of a few parents? It doesn’t make sense. Based on the number of comments supporting Bob, the district knew they would take heat for this. Although all of the details have not been released, and probably never will, if you really think about it you should get the sense that there were some serious issues going on behind the scenes. Issues so important, that the district was willing to take all of this online punishment in order to do the right thing.

Being such a large district, JD has a ton of lawyers on retainer, and the board of education is made up of some high-level professionals as well. Do you really think they would want to dismiss Bob without having all of their ducks in a row and risk an employment lawsuit? Do you think this all came about between the game on Sunday and Tuesday afternoon? That’s impossible. There have been issues between Bob and the School Board for quite some time. The events of the past few days have simply been the “final straw”.

Consider this – the board could have simply decided to not renew his contract this summer. It would have been very easy, it would have required no explanation, and it certainly would not have become the media spectacle it is today. The fact of the matter is that there have been enough things brewing with Bob that the district didn’t want to risk additional damage by keeping him around until the summer. A high school basketball coach has almost zero duties in the months of April, May, and June. If there weren’t egregious issues going on behind the scenes, the district would have delayed this action until the summer.

Do you really think the district would want to set a precedent by allowing parents to dictate the firing of a coach? It makes for a good story to get people riled up, but it has no basis in reality.

The comments on these articles are suggesting that parents were mad that Coach benched the player. The coach DID NOT BENCH the player. The school did. So to think that a group of parents could get the coach fired for benching a player is just wrong. It never happened. Coach Mac wanted the benched player to play. Given the tone of the issue between the two players and what was said, the fact that Coach Mac was willing to look the other way in order to win a game is disturbing, and I’m sure that weighed on the district’s decision.

Take a step back and think about this for a moment – the coach fostered an environment where an insensitive word could be used by players, he allowed two players who had issues with each other to “go at it” all week, never stepping in to try to diffuse the situation, and when it finally exploded, he was willing to look the other way and allow the player to play. When he was told by the district the player couldn’t play, he allowed 4-5 other players to “protest” that decision, in a very public forum. Knowing this, how is it that people can think “parents got him fired”? Bob got himself fired by not having better control over his practices, and for insubordination after-the-fact.

Consider this – Bob recently took a phys ed teacher position at Bishop Grimes. Do you know how many phys ed positions there are in the JD district, with three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school? If Bob was on good terms with the district, he would be earning a public school salary at JD and not working at Grimes. Nothing against Grimes, but I’m sure their gym teachers only earn a fraction of what JD gym teachers earn. Ask yourself why JD never offered Bob a teaching position? How could one benched player or a group of parents affect that? JD could have offered Bob a teaching position at anytime over the past several years, and they didn’t. Parents from this year’s team have nothing to do with that. It doesn’t make sense.

There are a lot of former players who have posted on Twitter what a great coach Bob was – and they are correct – he was a great coach for some players. For those players who have had a great experience I am happy for you – that is what HS sports should be about. Keep in mind though, Bob has been here for close to 20 years, with 14 or so players on each team, and only a handful of public comments have been made. There are a lot of players who have had a different experience with Bob, but they will never publicly post that, for fear of getting the wrath of all of these commenters in these articles.

I saw a Twitter post last night from a former OCC athlete who discussed the pain he and his team went through when their team was shut down due to Bob’s mismanagement as the OCC athletic director. Under Bob's watch, OCC teams had to forfeit a total of 16 games in a single season: men’s soccer (eight), women’s tennis (four), women’s volleyball (three) and women’s soccer (one). Bob allowed illegal players to compete on those teams. Syracuse.com was quick to post comments from former players in support of Bob, but I wish they would also search out players who did not have a good experience to provide a more balanced view.

Change is good. For both JD and Bob. It’s time for him to move on. There is a reason Bob went from being a college athletic director, to a 500+ win high school basketball coach, to a gym teacher at a private school with a high school enrollment of approximately 250 students. This is all about Bob – not about a benched player or a group of parents.

Shame on the district for taking action so close to the game on Sunday. Had they waited a week or two it still would have been a big story, but not a HUGE story. By taking action so quickly after the end of the season, the district makes it easy for everyone to assume this is about a benched player or meddling parents. I can tell you this is not the case. However, the fact that the district was willing to do this so close to the end of the season should give everyone a better sense that there were very serious issues going on behind the scenes which had nothing to do with players or parents. It was Bob’s own behavior that put him in this situation.
 
Shenexon said:
Interesting but lengthy comment from the PS article:

JD Parent 13214 51 minutes ago

I told myself yesterday that I wasn’t going to get involved in this online circus, but after reading SIX articles on the exact same topic, and reading the 300 and counting comments across those six articles, I feel compelled to provide my two cents. I have children at JD, but none play on the basketball team. I know almost all of the players on this team, and my children have been friends with many of these players and their families since elementary school. It saddens me greatly to see the players and parents put through this online witch-hunt.

What I am about to say will not be popular with 290 or so of the 300 people who have commented on these articles, but here goes: The only person responsible for Coach McKenney’s situation is Coach McKenney. Not the parents, not the administration, and certainly not the players.

I don’t think there is a single parent on the team with enough clout to get a coach fired, and that includes Jim Boeheim. Even if he could, do you really think Mr. Boeheim would want his name attached to this mess? He’s got enough on his plate, and his son had a great season. His son was a starter as a junior, and he was the team’s third leading scorer.

Does anyone really think that the Superintendent would want to fire a long-time coach, with a great record, based on the complaints of a few parents? It doesn’t make sense. Based on the number of comments supporting Bob, the district knew they would take heat for this. Although all of the details have not been released, and probably never will, if you really think about it you should get the sense that there were some serious issues going on behind the scenes. Issues so important, that the district was willing to take all of this online punishment in order to do the right thing.

Being such a large district, JD has a ton of lawyers on retainer, and the board of education is made up of some high-level professionals as well. Do you really think they would want to dismiss Bob without having all of their ducks in a row and risk an employment lawsuit? Do you think this all came about between the game on Sunday and Tuesday afternoon? That’s impossible. There have been issues between Bob and the School Board for quite some time. The events of the past few days have simply been the “final straw”.

Consider this – the board could have simply decided to not renew his contract this summer. It would have been very easy, it would have required no explanation, and it certainly would not have become the media spectacle it is today. The fact of the matter is that there have been enough things brewing with Bob that the district didn’t want to risk additional damage by keeping him around until the summer. A high school basketball coach has almost zero duties in the months of April, May, and June. If there weren’t egregious issues going on behind the scenes, the district would have delayed this action until the summer.

Do you really think the district would want to set a precedent by allowing parents to dictate the firing of a coach? It makes for a good story to get people riled up, but it has no basis in reality.

The comments on these articles are suggesting that parents were mad that Coach benched the player. The coach DID NOT BENCH the player. The school did. So to think that a group of parents could get the coach fired for benching a player is just wrong. It never happened. Coach Mac wanted the benched player to play. Given the tone of the issue between the two players and what was said, the fact that Coach Mac was willing to look the other way in order to win a game is disturbing, and I’m sure that weighed on the district’s decision.

Take a step back and think about this for a moment – the coach fostered an environment where an insensitive word could be used by players, he allowed two players who had issues with each other to “go at it” all week, never stepping in to try to diffuse the situation, and when it finally exploded, he was willing to look the other way and allow the player to play. When he was told by the district the player couldn’t play, he allowed 4-5 other players to “protest” that decision, in a very public forum. Knowing this, how is it that people can think “parents got him fired”? Bob got himself fired by not having better control over his practices, and for insubordination after-the-fact.

Consider this – Bob recently took a phys ed teacher position at Bishop Grimes. Do you know how many phys ed positions there are in the JD district, with three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school? If Bob was on good terms with the district, he would be earning a public school salary at JD and not working at Grimes. Nothing against Grimes, but I’m sure their gym teachers only earn a fraction of what JD gym teachers earn. Ask yourself why JD never offered Bob a teaching position? How could one benched player or a group of parents affect that? JD could have offered Bob a teaching position at anytime over the past several years, and they didn’t. Parents from this year’s team have nothing to do with that. It doesn’t make sense.

There are a lot of former players who have posted on Twitter what a great coach Bob was – and they are correct – he was a great coach for some players. For those players who have had a great experience I am happy for you – that is what HS sports should be about. Keep in mind though, Bob has been here for close to 20 years, with 14 or so players on each team, and only a handful of public comments have been made. There are a lot of players who have had a different experience with Bob, but they will never publicly post that, for fear of getting the wrath of all of these commenters in these articles.

I saw a Twitter post last night from a former OCC athlete who discussed the pain he and his team went through when their team was shut down due to Bob’s mismanagement as the OCC athletic director. Under Bob's watch, OCC teams had to forfeit a total of 16 games in a single season: men’s soccer (eight), women’s tennis (four), women’s volleyball (three) and women’s soccer (one). Bob allowed illegal players to compete on those teams. Syracuse.com was quick to post comments from former players in support of Bob, but I wish they would also search out players who did not have a good experience to provide a more balanced view.

Change is good. For both JD and Bob. It’s time for him to move on. There is a reason Bob went from being a college athletic director, to a 500+ win high school basketball coach, to a gym teacher at a private school with a high school enrollment of approximately 250 students. This is all about Bob – not about a benched player or a group of parents.

Shame on the district for taking action so close to the game on Sunday. Had they waited a week or two it still would have been a big story, but not a HUGE story. By taking action so quickly after the end of the season, the district makes it easy for everyone to assume this is about a benched player or meddling parents. I can tell you this is not the case. However, the fact that the district was willing to do this so close to the end of the season should give everyone a better sense that there were very serious issues going on behind the scenes which had nothing to do with players or parents. It was Bob’s own behavior that put him in this situation.
Expand...

There is a lot incorrect with that statement. But I'll just dive into this 1 paragraph:

"Take a step back and think about this for a moment – the coach fostered an environment where an insensitive word could be used by players, he allowed two players who had issues with each other to “go at it” all week, never stepping in to try to diffuse the situation, and when it finally exploded, he was willing to look the other way and allow the player to play. When he was told by the district the player couldn’t play, he allowed 4-5 other players to “protest” that decision, in a very public forum. Knowing this, how is it that people can think “parents got him fired”? Bob got himself fired by not having better control over his practices, and for insubordination after-the-fact. "

That is not a fireable offense in anyway shape or form. And it makes her entire statement laughable.

Now lets take that same paragraph to form a different opinion... Maybe 1 or 2 people on the board who have had it out for Bob where embarrassed by the public protest and are using it as their final straw to get rid of him.

And she says only a few former players have commented... 20 teams by 14 players = 280. We'll divide that by 2 for the average amount of years each player plays and we come up to an unofficial tally of 140 players over the last 20 years.

I have seen at least 75 former players comment. Including people who barely played (tom keating, senior captain of his 1st season who saw his playing time drop), people who won state titles (brian becker), famous alums (brandon triche, dejaun coleman), siblings of famous alums (michael rautins), parents, managers (chad peralmut), and everything in between. These names were just quickly off of the top of my head. Give me 5 minutes to do an ounce of research and i can get a lot more. The amount of support is unbelievable. The amount of disproval is very limited. That speaks volumes.
 
And bringing in Bob's lack of skills at OCC is wrong. A lot of people can be great mentors/coaches and suck as an administrator.

Could you imagine if Darryl Gross took over the basketball team?
 
Does this boil down to once incident where a white player dropped an N-bomb at another player during practice?
 
Cheriehoop said:
Not quite true .
Expand...

Exactly. JD recruits the greater Syracuse area just like CBA and Ludden do. I recently found out that it's possible, for a fee, to have your son/daughter attend another district even if you don't live there. Last season my son's school had a player from another district playing Varsity. This season he was back with his original district. The father told me that not all districts allow it, but ours did. You still have to pay the school taxes to your "resident" district (since you live there), but you can pay the school tax for the other district as "tuition" to attend.
 
TOL22 said:
My daughter also coaches varsity girls basketball in sec 4, and yes it's pretty much the same. In fact, before try-outs even began she was getting emails from parents about playing time as if their daughters had already made the team. The parents act more entitled than the girls do!
Expand...

Cathy, you are so right about this. We have a few in our district right now. One mother has, in her mind, her son starting Varsity as a ninth grader. He is no where near ready. It's tiresome hearing about how "great" he is. :bang:
 
CuseIsInTheHouse said:
Does this boil down to once incident where a white player dropped an N-bomb at another player during practice?
Expand...
No, parents whose kids aren't getting playing time have been doing this at JD for 15 years or more. This year these parents have the clout or mouths big enough to wear down the spineless administration. The "N" word situation was just one more red herring. Bob addressed it but of course the rabble rousers wouldn't have been happy unless he had hung the kid 'till dead from the rafters. Amazing how insensitive Bob is. He has conned so many of his players, both black and white, into inviting him and Lisa to their weddings after moving on from JD. But lets not cloud the issue with facts and testimonials when kids without enough playing time are at stake here. Better we trash a good man's character and reputation.
 
CusefanATL said:
And bringing in Bob's lack of skills at OCC is wrong. A lot of people can be great mentors/coaches and suck as an administrator.

Could you imagine if Darryl Gross took over the basketball team?
Expand...

You say that like TGD has been a great administrator...
 
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