A JV football game was suspended after a parent of a U-32 football player reportedly told BHS’s Junior Varsity Football Head Coach Josh Safran, “I’ve killed better men than you.”
A U-32 parent shouted this after their child was injured during the September 15 game, according to Assistant Coach Sean Silicowski. The parent was a member of the volunteer-operated “chain gang,” a trio of sideline assistants who mark the line of scrimmage during play.
When Silicowski reached the altercation, a line judge had stepped between Safran and the shouting parent.
“Our head coach told that guy that he needed to leave,” Silicowski said. “[He] told him to get off of school property. I’m glad that he left the property with little resistance, or physical resistance, at least.”
Athletic Director Quaron “Q” Pinckney said Safran decided to stop the game and got his athletes on the bus for everyone’s safety. The athletics team then had many follow-up conversations about next steps.
A police report has been filed and Pinckney said they are still trying to access the report through the U-32 Athletic Director. U-32 also banned this parent from attending the remainder of fall events, though Pinckney and BHS are pushing for the winter season as well.
According to Pinckney, the parent went to the U-32 Athletic Director’s office about an hour or two after the initial incident occurred to apologize. Coach Safran is interested in having a restorative conversation with the parent, but Pickney said U-32 does not have the same approach to restorative practices as BHS does.
“If they don’t know how to properly take those steps, it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to,” Pinckney said. “So that’s kind of the place where we’re stuck right now.”
Alphonse Junior-Mashaka ‘29 said Safran seemed distressed at the game, but players like himself were not told exactly what happened.
“Next practice, yeah, he [Safran] asked if everything was okay, and if we needed help or wanted to talk about it,” Junior-Mashaka said.
Pinckney cited past incidents that Safran handled well, such as a BFA St. Albans student leaving the field after illegal hits and racist comments.
“If a student athlete has a comment directed toward them that’s inappropriate or [offensive], in many of those situations, there’s always going to be a level of denial, you know, but at least we’re taking it seriously to where the student athlete is heard,” Pinckney said. “We try to empower those folks on the field to stop the game. Come grab one of us, see if we can continue the game after talking it through.”
Silicowski said there was no security at the game, a policy applicable to most sporting events. In the past, Pinckney has hired Chocolate Thunder security for games with an anticipated large turnout.
“I like their approach because they’re really about de-escalation, and not necessarily so quick to, like, put hands on people, Pickney said.
Pinckney is the co-chair for the DEI committee that the Vermont Principals Association represents. The vote for him and South Burlington student activities director Mike Jabor was unanimous. Pinckney is working on a coach’s manual that emphasizes de-escalation and communication between coach and athlete. He is also currently revising the athletics handbook to include more of the district code of conduct language. Pinkney hopes to have both done by the winter season.
In addition, BHS has just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Burlington Police Department. Pinckney said this is a step towards building a better relationship between the district and the police.
“I know there was a fractured relationship after the removal of [School Resource Officers] in 2020, and then obviously the budget cuts to their staffing really hurt as well,” Pinckney said. “We’re going to be out in the community. If there are situations where BHS students may be involved in something, [they’re] going to reach out to BSD.”
