2 May 2016
From Seattle: Molotov cocktails and high school football corruption
High school football excesses and organized anarchy are dominating the news in Seattle.
Organized anarchy. Seattle has a history of Mayday violence committed by anarchists. Yesterday was no exception. Hundreds of anarchists, clad in black and hellbent on making trouble, threw rocks and even a Molotov cocktail at police, who arrested several hooligans:
In all, those arrested included eight males and one female, ranging in ages 20 to 32. Five arrests were made for obstruction; three for assault and one for property destruction, police reported.
Among the officers who were hurt, one was struck by a Molotov cocktail, but was not burned. Another officer was bitten, police reported. Two of the five injuried officers were taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, officials said.
The punishment should be community service. Give the perps bayonets and good luck charms, and send them to clear landmines in the third world.
Bellvue high school football — corrupt and out of control. Taking football too seriously is a universal problem that gets taken to destructive extremes when money is plentiful and common sense is scarce. Last week, the Seattle Times ran a story, Bellevue booster club says it pays coach Butch Goncharoff $60,000 a year — but not for coaching the football team, that makes one wonder why adult judgement is in such short supply in the community that’s home to Microsoft.
For months, the Bellevue football booster club refused to talk to investigators about its payments to head football coach Butch Goncharoff. Club president John Connors told The Seattle Times on Tuesday the club pays the celebrated coach about $60,000 a year — but only for activities unrelated to in-season coaching.
Connors, a former Microsoft CFO, said in an interview that Goncharoff has been paid “for a whole host of things,” including working on summer football camps, youth programs and other non-football events.
The district gives Goncharoff a coaching stipend, which was $9,000 in 2015.
Rules from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) require payments to a coach in excess of “$500 in a season” to be approved by the school board. Goncharoff’s payments were permissible, Connors said, because they weren’t for coaching during the season.
Permissible? That remains to be determined. A good idea? No. For all intents and purposes, the coach is working for a private organization, not the school district. Bellvue needs to clean house, and it’s going to need a manure fork, not a broom.