Alleged violations require investigation
By Craig Perry
Associate Director
As an athletic or activities director in your school your responsibilities and duties are vast
and many, and vary from day to day. These responsibilities can range from human
resources to facility management, from parent and student educator to coach evaluator.
On any given day you may have to determine the initial eligibility of a foreign exchange
student, prepare the gym for an evening contest, ensure the soccer field is mowed and
lined for the soccer match, or visit with a newly hired coach who is new to your school
and your community.
You are part human resources manager, part facility manager, part fundraiser, and part
community leader. No matter what hat you wear, regardless of all of the parts that we put
together, collectively — you are responsible for the successful administration of your
programs and for ensuring they are compliant with your school rules and the League’s
rules and policies.
On occasion you may also be faced with an alleged violation of school or League rules.
As the school’s designated person responsible for compliance you will have to review the
allegations and determine if indeed an infraction occurred. The information can come
from a variety of sources: a police report, a photo from the internet, a phone call from a
concerned citizen or parent, or from a student in your school — just to name a few. In all
situations, when you are presented with this type of information you must review it and
determine what steps are necessary. The steps below will help guide you in the process.
1. Review the information and determine if it is credible, reliable and valid. If your
review indicates the information is indeed credible, reliable and valid, then you need
to begin an investigation.
2. Read the League Bylaws and determine which bylaw allegedly has been violated.
3. Implement your school investigation process. If you do not have an established
process for investigations, then sit down as an administrative staff and craft an
investigation process for your school.
4. Conduct the investigation, beginning with an interview of the individuals
involved in the alleged violation. There are no automatic suspensions; for example,
even a student identified in a police report must be interviewed.
5. Determine the outcome. If the alleged violation is confirmed by the individual,
then explain the penalty or suspension. If the violation cannot confirmed or is denied,
then weigh the information. Assume all information is true and then decide where the
preponderance of evidence or the burden of proof leads you.
6. Conclude the investigation. You have 10 days to investigate the allegation and
find the alleged violation to either be true or to be false.
7. Inform the individual of your conclusion. You must let the individual know the
investigation has been concluded.
8. Educate the individual to help prevent future violations. Also, if a student is
found to be in violation you must send a written determination to the family and
provide a copy of the MSHSL Fair Hearing Procedure — the student’s due process.
As the activities director you daily get to see the successes of your students — in the
classroom, on the court, on the field or on the ice. You have the opportunity to help shape
and mold their future. Although conducting an alleged bylaw violation investigation may
never make your “Things I like most about being an athletic director” top 10 list, it is a
very important part of your duties.
You will find that investigating an alleged violation using the steps identified above will
bring consistency and efficiency to the process. At the end of the day we hope that the
allegations are simply that — allegations — but we know that we will have some
confirmed violations.
Conducting a proper investigation is critical, but equally important is the opportunity to
educate. If we use the process as a teachable moment, a chance to teach and to help, then
we can help make a negative become a positive, and maybe, just maybe, prevent future
violations.
For additional information about “Conducting an Investigation,” go to your MSHSL
administrative Web site page.