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Post by Aggie One on May 18, 2009 19:48:37 GMT -5
To his eyeballs and West Charlotte too.
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Post by Bornthrilla on May 20, 2009 8:13:03 GMT -5
Northern parents take case to NAACP Wednesday, May 20, 2009 By Robert Bell Staff WriterGREENSBORO — Parents of Northern Guilford students have filed grievances with the Greensboro chapter of the NAACP relating to Guilford County Schools' investigation into Northern's athletics department, the latest sign the scandal that stripped the Nighthawks of their state basketball crown isn't going away anytime soon. Rev. Cardes Brown, president of the local NAACP, said he met with several Northern parents Sunday at the group's regularly scheduled meeting. After hearing their stories, Brown instructed the chapter's committee members to investigate the parents' claims. "Having only gotten my information (on the investigation) from the newspaper and the media it was very disturbing to hear some of the things that were told to me," he said. "Like any situation the NAACP gets involved in, we want to make sure everyone is treated fairly and with dignity." Brown said parents accused Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green of meeting privately last week with the two basketball players who were ruled ineligible and blaming them for the school losing its 3-A state title. Another parent, Brown said, told of a Guilford County Sheriff's Deputy showing up at her home last month to verify whether her son lives within Northern's attendance zone. Nora Carr, Green's chief of staff, said the NAACP informed school officials Tuesday afternoon of the grievances. "We're confident that the NAACP will find that our process and procedures were respectful and appropriate," she said. School board member Amos Quick attended the meeting. He did not return telephone calls Tuesday. Many of the 16 parents who attended the meeting did not want to talk with a reporter. One father, who declined to be identified, said parents told the NAACP their children and Northern are being singled out. He said parents also complained about the resignations of Northern principal Joe Yeager, athletics director Derrell Force and head custodian Louis Lawson, whose son Jacob played basketball. All of the parents who attended the meeting were black, but Stan Kowalewski, who lost his job last week as Northern's basketball coach, said the meeting was not motivated by race. "More than anything they want the injustice done to Northern to be compared to (other ongoing investigations) in the county and see if what has happened has been fair," he said. Read more: www.news-record.com/content/2009/05/20/article/northern_parents_take_case_to_naacp
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Post by SixtiesAggie on May 20, 2009 10:19:06 GMT -5
"not motivated by race" .... Then why are they talking to the NAACP?
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Post by aggiedog on May 20, 2009 11:22:37 GMT -5
They need to suck it up and move on. When you break the rules and get caught you have to pay the consequent.
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Post by Bornthrilla on May 20, 2009 11:57:08 GMT -5
What do they expect the NAACP to do - organized a picket line?
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Post by SixtiesAggie on May 20, 2009 15:29:45 GMT -5
What do they expect the NAACP to do - organized a picket line? My sentiments exactly. If illegal use of players is a problem then the administration needs to get a handle on it. Cheating is cheating is cheating, whether it is in craps, marbles, tonk, horseshoes, baseball, football or basketball. Just ask Bonds, Rodriquez, Clemens, Sosa and others. Probably many of the protesters or complainers have nothing but disdain for Bonds. What do they call him? Cheater!!
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Post by pantheraggie on May 21, 2009 5:51:27 GMT -5
These are not my comments but that from someone who posted their feelings on the news and record yesterday. I really think this sums it up how many feel about Northern involving the NAACP. It's at least how I feel.
FactGiverMay 20, 2009 - 9:24 am EDT As an African-American, I'm very taken back by the lack of education, respect, and dignity shown by these group of parents at Northern who continue to fight a battle in which they knowingly created themselves by making decisions that they knew had the potential to back-fire and ruin a year of their children's life. The involvement of the NAACP is a joke. A complete joke! This issue has NOTHING to do with race and this incident was handled very similarly to the investigation of Guilford County Schools in regards to athletic eligibility in 2003. In 2003, quite a few schools had athletes ruled ineligible due to attendance/grades and had to forfeit seasons, including many teams who had very successful seasons. The rulings of that investigation exceeded any color, as even a cheerleading squad at a predominantly white school was ruled to have had an ineligible cheerleader. Bottom line is the issues and problems in this case of nothing to do with color. It centers around a lack of sound judgement by a group of adults (parents and coaches) who ultimately used children as pawns to gain instant credibility for a newer high school basketball program which in the grand scheme of life is NOT important at all. Until the folks involved at Northern Guilford accept fault in this issue, I will NOT feel sorry for them or feel sorry for what they have lost. You must accept fault in order to grow as an individual and as a community. It's about time they start doing that.....
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Post by aahhbigboy on May 21, 2009 6:09:51 GMT -5
Man, it cant' be said any better than that.
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Post by aggiejazz on May 21, 2009 7:15:53 GMT -5
NAACP
Our Mission The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
Vision Statement The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination.
Objectives The following statement of objectives is found on the first page of the NAACP Constitution — the principal objectives of the Association shall be:
To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens
To achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States
To remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes
To seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights To inform the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination and to seek its elimination
To educate persons as to their constitutional rights and to take all lawful action to secure the exercise thereof, and to take any other lawful action in furtherance of these objectives, consistent with the NAACP's Articles of Incorporation and this Constitution.
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Post by aggiejazz on May 21, 2009 7:19:50 GMT -5
Maybe the objectives above in color covers this elgibility issue. NAACP involvement in issues is not necessarily only about race.
Just another take/angle concerning NAACP being involved with N Guilford HS parents.
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Post by Bornthrilla on May 29, 2009 9:08:38 GMT -5
Did N.Y. trip influence first recruiting probe at Northern Guilford high? Friday, May 29, 2009 By Robert Bell Staff WriterGREENSBORO — Northern Guilford principal Joe Yeager and Athletics Director Derrell Force cleared boys basketball coach Stan Kowalewski of recruiting and using ineligible players in January 2008 — one month after Kowalewski paid for the men and their wives to accompany the team to a holiday basketball tournament in New York City. Guilford County Schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green declined to comment Thursday night on the initial probe into Northern’s basketball team, saying it would be inappropriate to discuss an investigation that began and concluded before he became superintendent. But e-mails released this month by school system officials as part of their current investigation shed light on that initial probe and suggest a possible conflict of interest involving Yeager and Force, two of the main investigators. Former schools Superintendent Terry Grier, who initiated the 2007 investigation, said Thursday that he was shocked to learn of the paid trip. “Had I known about it then, I would have stopped (the trip) immediately,” Grier said. “You can’t take a trip like that and expect to render a full, fair report.” Force declined to comment this week. Yeager could not be reached for comment. Kowalewski said the trip did not compromise the investigation, and he paid Force and Yeager’s way so they could be chaperones. In fall 2008, less than a year after both men helped clear Northern’s basketball team of wrongdoing, school system officials quietly reopened the probe. This time, Yeager and Force were not involved or even aware of the investigation, school officials said. This time, investigators discovered two basketball players living outside Northern’s attendance zone, infractions that cost the school its 3-A state basketball championship. In announcing her findings this month, school system attorney Jill Wilson said she found “red flags” immediately after she began looking at some students’ records. Northern officials should have easily picked up those same warnings from student records in 2007, Wilson said. “Those red flags were even more obvious in 2007,” she said. “In some ways they were as glaring, if not more glaring, back then.” Wilson declined to elaborate on the initial investigation. School system officials’ interest in the Northern athletics program dates to Dec. 4, 2007, when Northwest Guilford Athletics Director John Hughes sent school board member Darlene Garrett an e-mail. In it, Hughes outlined his concerns that Kowalewski “was actively recruiting and enrolling students at Northern who are not in the Northern attendance zone.” “The fact is, (Kowalewski) is a very wealthy man who has the means to rent and provide housing addresses and transportation to several of his players,” Hughes wrote. The next day, Garrett forwarded Hughes’ allegations to Grier. Within hours, Grier sent an e-mail to then-county Athletics Director Herb Goins and co-interim Superintendent Eric Becoats and included Yeager in the correspondence. Grier ordered Goins to “conduct an immediate investigation.” Goins declined to comment Thursday. Garrett did not return telephone calls. On Thursday, Kowalewski acknowledged paying for the airfare and hotel rooms for Yeager, Force and their spouses — bills totaling more than $1,600. School system officials questioned him on the trip this month, asking why he paid for the couples, he said. Kowalewski said he paid for trips by school administrators, serving as chaperones, to Miami when he coached at High Point Central. Kowalewski said he asked Yeager and Force to serve as chaperones for the trip as early as spring 2007. E-mailed airline receipts from Kowalewski to Force show that Kowalewski bought the airline tickets on Nov. 16, 2007 — three weeks before Grier ordered his investigation. Read more: www.news-record.com/content/2009/05/28/article/conflict_of_interest_may_have_affected_initial_northern_guilford_inquiry
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Post by aahhbigboy on May 30, 2009 13:28:31 GMT -5
Coach spent from team’s account Saturday, May 30, 2009 By Robert Bell Staff Writer
GREENSBORO — Stan Kowalewski, Northern Guilford’s ousted boys basketball coach, spent more than $4,000 from a nonprofit bank account set up for the basketball team to pay his personal bills — his yard service, his electric and natural gas bills, his home extermination service — according to documents obtained by the News & Record.
On numerous occasions, Kowalewski wrote checks to himself, including one on Christmas Eve 2008 for $1,500.
Kowalewski said Friday night he managed the account poorly, but denied the money was misappropriated.
He said he deposited more than $10,000 of his own money into the account and was only paying himself back for expenses incurred.
“The mistake I made was, instead of writing all the checks to myself, where money was owed to me I took a shortcut and wrote (checks) to businesses that provide services to me,” he told the News & Record while attending Northern Guilford’s annual fundraising auction at Canterbury School.
“I certainly paid in and donated a ton more money than I took out,” he said. “I can account for every dime and nickel to our kids.”
The information, obtained through the state’s public records laws, is part of the school system’s ongoing investigation into Northern Guilford’s athletic scandal.
School system attorney Jill Wilson said Friday it is unclear exactly how much money Kowalewski used from the account to pay himself or pay for personal services.
“I have concerns about whether Northern Guilford High School has gotten all of the gifts and contributions that people intended to go to their benefit,” said Wilson said in an interview on Friday night. “There appears to be a large amount (of money) unaccounted for.”
The documents show that Kowalewski used money raised from summer basketball camps, events and a fundraiser golf tournament. In 2008, Kowalewski opened an account for the team at SunTrust Bank under the name “Northern Guilford Basketball.”
Bank records for April, the most recent month available, show checks issued in the name of Northern Guilford Basketball made out to Duke Energy, the City of Greensboro, Northern assistant basketball coach Jeff Schneider, Cardinal (a residential landscaping business), and to himself.
The documents also show Kowalewski established the account using a tax identification number already registered to Northern Guilford High School Athletic Booster Club, the school’s main club.
A tax number shelters nonprofits such as booster clubs from paying taxes. Norman Klick Jr., an attorney for the booster club, told school system officials the club’s officers were unaware Kowalewski had opened the basketball account or that he had used the club’s tax number. Banks often require a tax number to open a nonprofit account.
Booster clubs typically earn their money through concessions, T-shirts and fundraisers.
The money is used to help offset the cost of equipment, travel and other expenses.
Kowalewski said the boys and girls basketball programs ran summer camps in 2007 without a tax number and that coaches were paid in cash.
He said former athletics director Derrell Force, who resigned in April, told coaches last year to open separate accounts to deposit camp money and to use the booster club’s tax number.
Kowalewski said he was disappointed school system officials chose to release the information “and then hide.”
“I’m disappointed in Jill Wilson’s repeated attempts to try to bring me down,” he said. “I’ve been fully open whenever any allegation has been flung out there and tried to explain myself. I wish Guilford County would do the same.”
Kowalewski again hinted he and Northern Guilford supporters are preparing to fight the school system’s investigation that eventually stripped the basketball team of its state crown earlier this month.
“I’m 100 percent convinced we’ll be vindicated on every recruiting, eligibility, financial and academic allegation,” he said.
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Post by aahhbigboy on May 30, 2009 13:30:34 GMT -5
It, officially, can't get any dumber.
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Post by The Professor on May 30, 2009 14:22:03 GMT -5
It's not over my friend. This will drag out until next year's season
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Post by aahhbigboy on May 31, 2009 19:34:51 GMT -5
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