Story on Kevin Brown - basketball coach at Washington HS

[Da Coach]

I have no horse in this race as I do not live in Washington, and I do not know Coach Brown, though I have heard many stories related by people close to the situation and who do know those involved.

But we are not talking about adults, we are talking about children. I can't believe anyone thinks it is acceptable for a high school teacher or coach to ever use the foulest vulgar and offensive language or to intimidate, deride, demean, or treat these children abusively, or use terms in berating them like "Are you f**king stupid?"

IMO, the parents did the right thing in bringing their concerns to the school board, and the school board acted appropriately in how they responded.
According to the PJ Star, here are direct quotes from the school board:
Brown’s “actions are directly contrary to the core values of the board and the district.”
and...
“The board recognizes that use of inappropriate language and aggressive behavior by coaches" is not acceptable and that...
"The board strongly believes that coaches do not need to engage in these behaviors"...

I believe Coach Brown is a good man, and he admitted he made mistakes and acknowledged that he has to change. Hopefully, this will resolve this issue.

[Chico]

I'm not sure what you mean? There are entire departments in work environments that deal with behavior like this (HR). These are professional environments where emotional abuse is generally not tolerated.

If you're dealing with emotional abuse on a personal level, you can do things about that as well (get divorced, move, turn off the computer, etc.).

As an adult you do have more freedom in terms of controlling your environment. As a kid you are just being led around by your parents. That doesn't mean these kids can't adapt to the real world.

I Just mean what I said. Mommy and daddy won't always be around when someone raises their voice to the little kiddies.

[Deadguy35]

I Just mean what I said. Mommy and daddy won't always be around when someone raises their voice to the little kiddies.

So what? There are other ways to deal with emotional abuse, as stated.

[Deadguy35]

I have no horse in this race as I do not live in Washington, and I do not know Coach Brown, though I have heard many stories related by people close to the situation and who do know those involved.

But we are not talking about adults, we are talking about children. I can't believe anyone thinks it is acceptable for a high school teacher or coach to ever use the foulest vulgar and offensive language or to intimidate, deride, demean, or treat these children abusively, or use terms in berating them like "Are you f**king stupid?"

There's not only people who defend it but there are people who support it and cheer it on. They feel like the only way to motivate kids is through emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is legal which is why people in power will continue to use it as a motivational tool.

However, there are other ways to get the most out of the kids if you are in a position of power. The best educators and coaches know how to get the most out of kids without resorting to such tactics.

Some kids do need discipline and boundaries. That doesn't mean they need emotional abuse.

I've had coaches who acted like coach Brown and the teams still did not succeed. The reason why just goes back to lack of talent. Washington has had talented teams which is why they have had success in the regular season. The post season has been another issue, however. There are lots of large school area teams who have made it farther in the post season than Washington has this decade (Notre Dame, Central, Manual, Richwoods, Morton, Limestone).

I don't live in the Peoria area but I'd imagine there's more than just the parents of one or two kids complaining in this situation for it to escalate to this point. There's obviously no smoking gun here like there was in the Neil Reed/Bobby Knight situation so I'm not surprised that Brown was able to keep his job.

[tornado]

...Washington's coach Kevin Brown was also in the news for this

IBCA Coach of the Year...

just sayin' ....Manual is looking for a new head coach.... and there's word out there...

[BraveDevil012]

That would be a shocker. After being retained in some ways he is now bullet proof unless the Super and AD actually put in "real" remediation to follow. I thought he would take the Rich woods job when Ellis left. He has a cushy job that pays extremely well. I would guess he would never leave. I am only wrong 50% of the time though.

[tornado]

but don't you think what happened at Washington now leaves Coach Brown kinda "handcuffed"...and with a leash around his neck?

first - it was made known that he must "remediate" the current situation - which means he obviously must now try to please those who do not like him, do not want him and who want him fired...
That's gonna take some doing and I suspect you ain't never gonna please most of them so he's fighting a losing battle.....all it's gonna take is for one of "them" to win a seat on the school board and you know what'll happen...

then, because of the recent events - there will be an enormous microscope on him - with people in the crowds, at practices, and just all day long - pointing their camera phones at him endlessly trying to get the "smoking gun" evidence like the "choking" video that sunk Bobby Knight. Would you wanna work under those circumstances?
If one foul word slips out, someone's gonna catch it and give it to Phil Luciano...then more attacks and piling on.


Maybe some people are satisfied with the Board's decision on Brown but I have people who work for me whose kids are athletes at Washington HS and I can tell you there are definitely some who are extremely displeased with this outcome and see it as essentially a cop-out to keep winning and keep a guy who ought to be gone - in the same position with no guarantees the behavior will actually change.

Here's the wording as released:
"The board believes that coach Brown should be given an opportunity to remediate these issues,”
..“The board has made clear to coach Brown its expectations for the basketball program going forward.”

It remains unclear what those specific expectations are.
Superintendent Dr. Kyle Freeman declined to elaborate."
...so nobody really knows what is supposed to or expected to change ... it just says the Board believes Brown should be given the opportunity to remediate the issues (doesn't say he must do so) and that there are expectations but no proposed further penalty or discipline even if he fails on those expectations.
I work every day in Washington and hear a lot of talk - I just think it is interesting....

[tornado]

This is a 2017 thread that is resurrected...


after the big uproar by a group of parents in spring of 2017 to try to get Washington Coach Kevin Brown fired....
Brown was retained anyway and a few of the parents yanked their kids from Washington HS and they went elsewhere.
(check some posts earlier in this thread..)

One such kid was Collin Dietz, who spent his first two season playing for Brown at Washington but this past year he "transferred" to Metamora and played there.

He had a good season and in a fairly down-year as far as local talent - he was named the PJStar Player of the year

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20180401/2018-journal-star-large-school-boys-basketball-player-of-year-collin-dietz-metamora

He already has one DI offer (Stetson) and rumor has it that Bradley's coaches have been to watch him at least once - but no offer. He is a 6-5 "tweener" who isn't big enough to play the frontcourt at DI but who may not have sufficient quickness & backcourt skills..but he could develop into a Danny Adams-type player. But if you read the story above, an unfortunate accident caused him to lose "half his index finger on his shooting hand" - something that may affect his recruiting.

Anyway - there are still rumors that Brown could lose his job, but no word at this time.

[tornado]

Jim Mattson just reported that Washington's Coach Brown just passed away last nite