HOWARDS GROVE, Wisc. — This week, Brett Damrow, coach of the Howards Grove Girls Volleyball team, found out he wouldn’t be finishing out the season.
The district suspended him. Damrow can practice with the team but will not be on the sideline for playoffs.
"It's been very difficult, but honestly, it's more difficult for a young woman and about 30 other athletes,” he said, teary.
A district investigation found evidence of Damrow violating a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) rule — undue influence — which essentially means coercing a student or their family to join the district.
In this case, it was an out-of-state student. She needed a place to stay if she wanted to compete on the Howards Grove team.
Watch: Howards Grove coach speaks out after suspension
In an exclusive interview with me, Brett shared that he gave her the contacts of people who may be willing to take her in.
"I'll accept the punishment if helping an athlete find a place after she said she wanted to come here…that's a place of caring,” Damrow remarked.
"I don't think there was malicious intent by any means,” clarified District Superintendent Shannon Kilton.
“I do think it was an error in judgment in trying to do what's best for a student who was looking for better opportunities for athletics and academics."
Kilton said the district didn't take its decision lightly, adding that they were trying to avoid more severe sanctions that would have been issued by the WIAA if they hadn't acted.
"It could affect our district as a whole, including tournament play," not just for volleyball but all Howards Grove sports. “We kept the students at the forefront.
She sent me a list of potential consequences:
- Suspension of membership for not more than one year.
- Probation for not more than one year.
- Denial of participation in the Association tournament program.
- Denial of any area of Association services and benefits.
- Monetary fine equal to Association expense incurred in any investigation and actual reimbursement of costs resulting from the violation.
- Forfeiture (team sports) of contests won by the school or (individual sports) of points/places won by individuals.
The WIAA did however place the volleyball team on probation for one year. Kilton said in spite of these events, the school is ready to welcome Damrow back next season.
"Coach Damrow is still an active employee in the district, so I hope and pray that he does intend to stay with the district," Kilton noted.
I reached out to several of Damrow’s former players. Whitley Schumacher (pictured second from the right) — who now attends the University of Kentucky — responded.
She shared it was hard to hear the news of her former coach.
"His influence on his athletes is the reason that his program was so successful,” Schumacher said over Zoom. “It was a bummer because I do know how much Brett loves coaching and bettering his athletes.”
In his 20 years of coaching, Damrow has earned the school six state championship titles and one runners-up trophy.
"What's neat about it is I tell our athletes every day, 'Challenges are great if you accept them, and we will become better for this.'"
The girls compete against Notre Dame next Thursday in the Regional Semi-Finals.
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