L'Anse Creuse middle schoolers banned from attending high school football games
Fighting among some L'Anse Creuse middle school students appears to have prompted officials to ban them from attending high school football games.
CBS News Detroit spoke to parents, coaches and even a teacher, off camera, who said it was two Fridays ago when multiple fights broke out under the bleachers at a L'Anse Creuse High School football game. A notice sent to parents on behalf of the high school said that because of some ongoing behavior concerns at football games, students at Middle School Central and Middle School South wouldn't be allowed to attend high school games, even if they were with a parent.
The notice came as families celebrated Senior Night for the varsity football team.
"The board did not hear about it. The board did not receive that communication; it was our community that reached out to us, so I'm very thankful to the parents who were not going to let this go who really pushed the issue," said L'Anse Creuse School Board Trustee Sandra Hernden. "What do I do with their siblings? They're middle schoolers, and you're telling me there's a blanket ban so you're separating our family."
Hernden, a parent of three children in the district, says she heard from a group of upset parents who didn't understand why their middle schoolers couldn't attend the high school football games, even if their kids weren't the ones causing the distractions.
"And the students that were causing those problems and those issues, those should've been the students that were addressed, not an entire blanket ban," said Hernden.
Parents at a L'Anse Creuse seventh-grade football game say that the message was a shock, even though they had heard about middle schoolers fighting at games under the bleachers.
"The whole point of the football game is to bring the school community together, and that's what makes Friday night football the best, and the fact that they decided all on their own completely on their own," said Board Trustee Shane Sellers.
Sellers says he was frustrated with the message. After much backlash, the school eventually sent out another message just hours before Friday's game, stating that middle schoolers could attend under certain conditions.
"I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion on the principal's end," said Sellers.
In a phone interview, L'Anse Creuse Superintendent Keith Howell said that principals have to make decisions all the time about how to manage situations, and that last Friday night turned out well because of the revision to the first notice.
