Members of the Sun Prairie community are calling for the school district to reinstate West High School head boys basketball coach Chris Davis, who was removed from the position Friday, apparently related to a January 4 incident following the Wolves’ loss to Madison East.
Advocates will hold a town hall meeting at 5:00 pm at Sun Prairie City Hall, 300 East Main Street, to “provide a platform for community members, elected officials, and school district representatives to engage in a constructive and restorative dialogue,” according to an email from organizers.
More than 940 people have signed a petition requesting that the school district reinstate Davis, advocates said.
Davis was not on the sideline for the two games since January 4.
Video of the January 4 game shows Davis bump into a Madison East player immediately after the game and verbally confront a member of the Madison East coaching staff before being restrained and pushed away toward center court.
One witness said a Madison East assistant coach said something vulgar directed at either a player or coach for Sun Prairie West, though it wasn’t clear who was the target of the remark.
Organizers also said Davis was suspended from his job as a student advocate in the Sun Prairie School District for five days, but not terminated from that position.
Advocates said a suspension for any involvement in a postgame confrontation would be appropriate, but termination is too far.
“Firing seems extreme for a district that supposedly supports restorative justive,” community member Teran Peterson said. “An opportunity to heal that with the team wasn’t even offered.”
A Madison Metropolitan School District spokesperson said the district had investigated the incident in cooperation with Sun Prairie, but declined to say whether anyone from East was disciplined.
A Sun Prairie Communtiy School District spokesperson could not comment specifically on Davis’s case but did provide access to the district’s policy manual and code of conduct for coaches. It states that any violent conduct could lead to termination, including “direct threats or physical intimidation” as well as “loud, disruptive, profane or obscene language or gestures that are clearly not part of the typical school district learning environment.”
This is a developing story and we will report more details as we learn them.
