{"id":257611,"date":"2021-03-19T17:15:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T21:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=257611"},"modified":"2021-03-19T17:15:14","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T21:15:14","slug":"massachusetts-school-officials-deny-firing-football-coach-over-political-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massachusetts-school-officials-deny-firing-football-coach-over-political-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts School Officials Deny Firing Football Coach Over Political Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmassachusetts-school-officials-deny-firing-football-coach-over-political-differences%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=257611&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/141258184_10222883760114090_7592940423287456986_n.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Massachusetts high school denied allegations that they fired a football coach after he expressed concerns about his daughter\u2019s seventh-grade world history curriculum.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Former Dedham High School head football coach David Flynn sued Dedham Public Schools in February after the district refused to renew his contract following a disagreement with school officials. Flynn and his wife had previously contacted Dedham superintendent Michael Welch about their daughter\u2019s world history class, in which the teacher asked students to analyze a cartoon that depicted police officers as a &#8220;risk&#8221; to black people.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"posts-content__category-widget md:hidden -ml-4 -mr-4 my-8 px-4 py-6 bg-gray-100\">\n<h4 class=\"mt-0 text-red-600 font-medium font-sans uppercase\">Recent Stories in Latest News<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"list-none p-0 \">\n<li class>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/massachusetts-school-officials-deny-firing-football-coach-over-political-differences\/\"><strong>Massachusetts School Officials Deny Firing Football Coach Over Political Differences<\/strong><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li class>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/liberal-wisconsin-judge-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges\/\"><strong>Liberal Wisconsin Judge Arrested on Child Pornography Charges<\/strong><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li class>\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/california-curriculum-pushes-volunteering-only-at-arab-american-organizations\/\"><strong>California Ethnic Studies Curriculum Pushes Students to Volunteer at Arab-American Organizations<\/strong><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welch, Dedham High School principal Jim Forrest, and athletic director Stephen Traister denied that they fired Flynn as a result of the conflict, according to new court documents reviewed by the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Washington Free Beacon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Dedham Public Schools spokeswoman Sara Errickson declined to answer a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free Beacon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> inquiry into the nature of Flynn\u2019s firing.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The school officials confirmed details of Flynn\u2019s lawsuit in the new filings but denied that they fired him as a result of the disagreement. A prior announcement from the district, however, claimed Flynn was fired because he &#8220;expressed significant philosophical differences&#8221; with school officials. Michael Bekesha, a senior attorney for Judicial Watch\u2014the group working on Flynn\u2019s case\u2014told the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free Beacon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that he looks forward to squaring that discrepancy at an upcoming court-ordered conference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The only thing [the district officials] really deny is that Flynn was provided any indication for the reason for his firing \u2026 and they deny it without providing any context,&#8221; Bekesha said. &#8220;Everything else is admitted. It seems to strengthen or at least show that Flynn\u2019s lawsuit is based on facts.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Dedham community has rallied around Flynn since his firing. Members of a Facebook group called &#8220;Save Coach Flynn&#8221; have sent letters to the district, calling on them to &#8220;right their injustice and reinstate Flynn as head coach.&#8221; Supporters have held rallies outside of Dedham High School continually for the past two months.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A former Dedham high school football player told WCVB News in January that he was &#8220;devastated&#8221; over Flynn\u2019s departure.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Coach Flynn is an awesome guy and we\u2019re all devastated that they fired him,&#8221; Kevin O\u2019Leary said. &#8220;Coach Flynn and Dedham football, it\u2019s like broccoli and cheese sauce, can\u2019t have one without the other.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last fall, Flynn and his wife emailed Welch and school committee members to express concerns about their daughter\u2019s history class. Flynn claims in his lawsuit that parents were not notified of changes to the seventh-grade world history curriculum that included work on bias and race. Flynn and his wife argued that the coursework was &#8220;not suitable for twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middle school history teacher Kim Randall taught the online class via Google Classroom, in which she allegedly created an avatar of herself that donned a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. In one lesson, Randall asked students to evaluate a cartoon that depicted police officers as &#8220;risks&#8221; to black people, and black people as &#8220;risks&#8221; to white people.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Flynns emailed district officials about their daughter\u2019s class on several occasions. They decided to remove their two children from Dedham schools in October after they felt their concerns fell on deaf ears, which they believed had resolved the controversy.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then in January, Forrest, Traister, and Welch called Flynn into a meeting to inform him that the district would not renew his contract. Flynn had &#8220;never been provided any indication&#8221; that he would be fired prior to that meeting. The former coach claims in his lawsuit that the district retaliated against him in violation of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flynn is seeking damages for loss of pay, harassment, and emotional damages as a result of his firing. He began coaching at Dedham High School in 2002 and was promoted to head coach in 2011. Flynn also teaches special education students in a town outside of Dedham.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first court-ordered conference regarding the case is scheduled for April 26. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"my-8 hide-print\">\n\t\t<!-- \/339474670\/Freebeacon\/InContent --><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1526555381173-4\" class=\"mobile-250 desktop-90\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Massachusetts high school denied allegations that they fired a football coach after he expressed concerns about his daughter\u2019s seventh-grade world history curriculum.\u00a0 Former Dedham High School head football coach &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2310837,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/141258184_10222883760114090_7592940423287456986_n.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Massachusetts School Officials Deny Firing Football Coach Over Political Differences","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/141258184_10222883760114090_7592940423287456986_n.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Massachusetts School Officials Deny Firing Football Coach Over Political Differences","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2310837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}