Athletic director placed on leave after video goes viral
Soddy-Daisy High School’s athletic director Jared Hensley was placed on leave Wednesday after a video featuring comments he made went viral.
The video sparked outrage and backlash from many community members, who contacted school board members and the Hamilton County Schools central office and posted on social media.
While addressing a dress code policy on athletic shorts (which students are not allowed to wear at the school), Hensley said, “If you really want someone to blame, blame the girls. Because they pretty much ruin everything. They ruin the dress code, they ruin … well, ask Adam. Look at Eve. That’s really all you really gotta get to, OK. You can really go back to the beginning of time. So, it’ll be like that the rest of your life. Get used to it, keep your mouth shut, suck it up [and] follow the rules.”
The video, since removed from YouTube, contains announcements and other information that is produced by journalism students and broadcast to other students at the school.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson said the district had reviewed the video content and found Hensley’s comments “inexcusable.”
“We find the comments about young women in this video inexcusable, as the sentiments expressed do not align with the values of Hamilton County Schools. The situation is under investigation, and this employee has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately,” Johnson said in a statement. “We hold our employees and our leaders to a high standard, and these comments do not match the high expectations we have for our employees. We seek to prepare all children for success in life after high school and expect our employees to provide an atmosphere that will empower all children to reach their full potential.”
Natalie Green, who has a daughter in Hamilton County Schools, said Hensley’s statements “disgust her.”
“The fact that they’re coming from an educator is bad enough, but the fact that they’re coming from a man in a position of power is even worse. These remarks are blatantly sexist and misogynistic,” Green said, “and do nothing but perpetuate victimblaming and reinforce the rape culture that is so insidiously ingrained in our society.”
Alicia Whitley, a mother of four Hamilton County students, related Hensley’s comments to the current controversy around accusations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted two women.
“This nation has made sexism normal and acceptable,” she said. “People feel like they can say things like this with no repercussions.”
Whitley, who has three daughters and two sons, said her 12-year-old son was “flabbergasted” when he saw the video.
Soddy-Daisy’s school board representative Rhonda Thurman, of District 1, felt differently, though, especially as her community is dealing with days of torrential rain, flooding and the death of an elderly woman.
“There’s a lot going on right now to be worried about this in Soddy-Daisy,” she said. “I’m having a real hard time getting upset about this. … Can nobody take a joke anymore? He was just talking to the kids in their language and trying to be funny.”
Dawn Sloan Downes said Hensley’s comments mirror the messaging women have been fighting to overcome for decades.
“All of these messages tell girls that the only thing that matters is what men or boys want and that girls themselves only matter as obstacles preventing boys and men from having what they want,” she said.
Local activist organization Chattanooga Moms for Social Justice was instrumental in sharing the video.
“I have no doubt that Mr. Hensley will claim he was joking,” said Taylor Lyons, a co-founder of the group. “However, given the current social climate, his comments are insensitive at best and wildly inappropriate at worst. To suggest that ‘girls are responsible for ruining everything since the beginning of time and will continue to do so’ is completely unacceptable and he needs to apologize.”
Tucker McClendon, school board member for District 8, echoed Lyons’ thoughts.
“I think it was a stupid thing to say. It was an inappropriate message,” he said. “I would really like to see an apology to the women of Soddy-Daisy and that staff and the women across the county.”
Paige Dunny, a current student at Soddy-Daisy High School, said many of those speaking out do not know Hensley.
“I personally know Mr. Hensley and would like to say that he is one of the most supportive and nicest people/men I know. To put it into specifics, I had his gym class before he was vice principal and not once was he sexist or treated us any less because we were girls,” Dunny said in an email. “I’d hate to see such a wonderful man lose something he cares so much about over a comment that he didn’t mean. While distasteful, it doesn’t give a glimpse into the man he actually is.”
In the past year, the #MeToo movement has brought attention to and sparked dialogue about abuses of power and mistreatment of women. Allegations have been made against prominent men in many sectors of society, as women and allies call them out on behaviors ranging from harassing comments to sexual assault.