SPOKANE, Wash. – The Mead High School parking lot was filled with heads shaking in disbelief on Monday night after a football family meeting for school administrators to “put a few rumors to rest.”
“It was a joke,” one mother said.
“A fugazi,” another father said.
No media or non-football families were allowed to attend, but seven different parents all talked to NonStop Local after the meeting, all wanting to remain anonymous for a variety of reasons including pending litigation.
They all shared the same details about what happened during the closed meeting. They claimed the school’s Principal Kimberly Jensen, Superintendent Travis Hansen and football coach Keith Stamps explained how the school did not cover anything up, painting a timeline of when they knew information. One mother said they overemphasized how many kids were involved, while underplaying the hazing which occurred.
NonStop Local reached out to the school district about what the parents said, but haven’t heard back yet.
The meeting comes just hours after Mead High School students walked out of school Monday morning to raise awareness of the hazing incident that occurred within the school football team.
The student-organized walkout began around 9 a.m. at the high school, with dozens of students leaving class and exiting the building.
The walkout came after the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office shared that at least four Mead High School football players could be charged with misdemeanor assault following an alleged hazing incident at a training camp.
The Spokane County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney is currently reviewing the recommended charges, according to the sheriff’s department.
Mead High School has interviewed involved students and is currently conducting an internal investigation into the incident.
In a statement released to students and parents, they mentioned they are working to provide a safe environment for students and to understand the complex situation.
“The fact that we’re only now starting the process of moving forward — some nine months after the circumstances in question — is far from ideal,” the letter said.
