First they went to the Chicago Public Schools headquarters in the Loop. Then they tried another CPS office.
Turned away twice, the group of Lincoln Park High School basketball players and supporters eventually made their way back to campus, holding out hope that the varsity boys team’s suspension would be lifted in time to play in Tuesday evening’s city playoff game against Perspectives/IIT Math and Science Academy.
The last-ditch efforts to save their season proved unsuccessful, despite a student walkout Monday, impassioned statements at a community meeting and continued pleas on social media, where one player, Romelle Howard, even tried tweeting at Chicago rappers Chance, Common, Polo G and G Herbo.
“We are at school … nothing else we can do at this point,” junior player Ismail Habib said by phone from the library. Some varsity players did show up to support the junior varsity team in its game, which went ahead Tuesday evening and ended with a Lincoln Park victory.
The suspension of the varsity team’s season was part of the fallout from wide-ranging investigations by CPS into what a district official called “multiple allegations of serious misconduct involving the athletics program.” The district said Friday that interim Principal John Thuet and Assistant Principal Michelle Brumfield have been “removed … from their positions,” and three coaches and a dean have been removed or reassigned pending the outcome of the investigations.
Perspectives coach Waybon McConnell said a CPS official confirmed Tuesday morning that the varsity game was canceled. It was a disappointment for McConnell, who graduated from and played at Lincoln Park High.
“I’ve never been able to take the team that I coach to my old high school, so we were definitely looking forward to that,” McConnell said. “Of course, Chicago basketball, nobody wants to just get a forfeit win, but it’s out of our control.”
As for the CPS decision to suspend the Lincoln Park team, he said, “I feel for those kids, especially the ones that are not involved, but, like I said, that’s something that is above us.”
During a packed and heated community meeting Monday night at the high school’s auditorium, CPS officials presented a summary of their wide-ranging investigations into alleged misconduct at the school, including claims of sexual misconduct, retaliation against witnesses, athletic recruiting violations and financial misconduct involving athletic program accounts.
Asked about which allegations prompted the suspension of the team’s season, CPS spokesman Michael Passman said: “There are allegations involving both student misconduct and adult misconduct. The season would not have been suspended if the district was only reviewing allegations of adult misconduct.”
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School officials said the alleged misconduct also included failure to follow sexual misconduct reporting procedures, improper student discipline, dishonesty to families, allowing suspended employees to work, failure to create safety plans for students and interference with and withholding evidence from investigations.
Among the claims are that school leaders were aware of “student-on-student retaliation” against those who spoke to investigators and that it was not properly reported.
The Friday letter informing families of Thuet’s and Brumfield’s removal also states that Dean John Johnson and boys basketball coach Donovan Robinson “have been reassigned from their duties pending the outcome of these investigations.”
Head boys basketball coach Pat Gordon was removed earlier in January, CPS officials confirmed. The boys basketball team’s families at the time were informed that an unidentified staff member had been removed from the school in a letter, in which Thuet wrote he’d been “made aware” that members of the team “took an overnight trip over winter break that was not a school sponsored event.”
Games that aren’t played as scheduled will be forfeited, Passman said, adding that the season is suspended “indefinitely” at this time.
Citing ongoing investigations, Passman said the district couldn’t provide additional information about “the potential policy allegations that are being investigated.” Given the pending investigations, as well the need to protect the privacy of victims and legal restrictions on the release of student information, he said CPS was unable to provide other details about allegations.
Marcus Spencer, who described himself as a volunteer coach for the basketball program, spoke at Monday’s meeting in support of the team. Several other community members spoke in support of the suspended school administrators.
“A lot of this stuff was new to me last night,” Spencer told the Tribune on Tuesday. “… It’s a big mess. I just think it was handled wrong.”
Spencer said he only was recently informed he hadn’t completed the district’s volunteer application process as required. He said he has since submitted the paperwork and believes his application is pending.
Spencer said he had no knowledge of the recruiting violation allegations cited by CPS officials Monday evening.
“I know for a fact we don’t recruit kids,” Spencer said. “… We don’t have to recruit. We have a pool of athletes here in the school.”
Tuesday marked the beginning of the Chicago Public League playoffs. While participation in the city tournament doesn’t affect a team’s eligibility for state postseason play, CPS has informed the Illinois High School Association that it has withdrawn Lincoln Park from the state basketball tournament, IHSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha said.
If the school or CPS sought reentry, it “would be reviewed and considered by the IHSA director,” though there’s no official process for that, he said. In order for reentry to be considered, that would likely need to happen before Feb. 20, when the tournament is seeded, he said.
Though it became clear Tuesday afternoon that Lincoln Park was out of Tuesday’s game in the single-elimination city competition, Spencer said he and the team were holding out hope for the state tournament.
“There is some hope,” Spencer said. “I think the powers that be just have to be open to listen to both sides.”