Offensive Survey Leads To Buffalo Head Coach Resignation
WARNING: The survey contains offensive language. Be cautioned if you wish to view.
Buffalo High School's Football Coach resigns after circulating a survey to his team laced with offensive language.
Listen here,
"I would like to apologize for my lapse in judgment and the poor choice I made from my position as the head football coach for Buffalo High School." That's from a letter submitted to the Johnson County School Board who accepted, Monday night, the resignation of Head Coach, Pat Lynch.
"We had an event where Mr Lynch sent out a document to the football team that was inappropriate."
Johnson County Superintendent, Rod Kessler, says the survey went out to team members as part of a packet prior to an out-of-town game.
Word of the incident got back to the school board, Kessler says, through word of mouth and community response followed by the coach's admission. He says the board after investigating the circumstances decided to call for his resignation. Lynch has been head coach for the buffalo team for last 14 years.
"They accepted his resignation for his coaching and his other weight room activities. We've retained him as a school counselor, under administrative supervision meaning that we're going to work on building his reputation back to where it needs to be."
Kessler says the intent Lynch had for the survey is not being revealed publicly. "It's just a mistake on his part, ya know, he made a mistake, sent it out. My personal opinion was the intent wasn't to harm. It was probably to be a joke or something like that. It was in poor taste. It was wrong and unacceptable."
He says the community's response to the board's actions are mixed.
Kessler indicates it's unlikely Lynch will return to coaching, but he will continue acting as guidance counselor to high school students seeking assistance in a variety of areas including graduation and their path to college. He anticipates an apology from Lynch to those students impacted, though he says its impacted the entire community.
"Anytime your in a small community and something happens like that, ya know, it probably affects all of us. It affects me. I'm embarrassed by it."