An investigation has been reopened into allegations of students at North Creek High School against a basketball coach, after years of alleged abuse being reported to faculty and administration. Little action was taken over the years.
A group of parents recently obtained documents from the district through a public records request and then wrote a letter published in the Woodinville Weekly in hopes of forcing the district to reopen an investigation.
According to the letter, following student and parent complaints regarding coach and teacher Calvin McHenry, the girls’ basketball program at the school was originally investigated in 2018.
Allegations from multiple players over several years all include the same pattern behavior: body shaming, and inappropriate discussions about personal and sexual issues. Players also accused the coach of "grooming" behavior.
Kyra Mickey, a former player for the team who is now in college posted a lengthy write up on Instagram detailing her experiences with coach McHenry after years of staying silent about it.
The letter also alleged that "...the coach allowed a video of two students having sex to be shown in the locker room with no consequence handed down to the player who showed it."
Parents also claimed that the coach was found with open containers of alcohol at a school-funded basketball tournament.
Students allege that McHenry offered to take players for an abortion if they became pregnant and "…didn't want to tell their parents," and that he claimed he had "…done it before" with previous female students on the basketball team.
During the same season, students alleged that McHenry discussed one of his four ex-wives with the team and why he divorced them.
The allegations of verbal abuse and inappropriate behavior spanned years. Players were allegedly being pitted against one another, and that the coach screamed at the girls and created drama among team members.
According to the students, following the first investigation, Obadiah Dunham, assistant superintendent for the school district, held a team meeting and told the students that they had "…found nothing" on McHenry and sent the girls back to class, without further investigation.
Upon hearing this, the parents and students brought their concerns the school board and testified at the April 2019 board meeting. At the time, one of the board members, Sandy Hayes, recommended a full investigation.
The district reportedly hired a local investigator and on June 29, 2019 parents and students were told they "found nothing" on McHenry.
However, following the results, two coaches, were reportedly fired from the district. Additionally, parents were told that McHenry would be sent to training and that an Assistant Coach would be hired for the following season.
During the 2020 season there were more complaints and McHenry was investigated again. In March 2020, parents were notified that McHenry would be replaced and that parents and students would be invited to participate in the hiring of the new coach.
Despite the promises, McHenry was shortly thereafter reinstated as the girls’ basketball coach. Immediately following the announcement, two seniors and one junior, all starting varsity for the team, transferred out of the school to other programs.
During McHenry’s tenure, enrollment on the team dropped dramatically as many girls quit the team, transferred to other schools or decided not to tryout in subsequent seasons. The 2017 -2018 began the season with 45 girls and ended with 25 despite no one having been cut from the team. At the start of the 2018–2019, 30 girls came to tryouts. The trend continued in the 2019-2020 season with only 16 girls at tryouts and in 2020-2021, only 9 girls were at tryouts.
In order to put the low numbers in context, the school has over 1800 students. Boys’ basketball averages over 90 students at tryouts each year. Even the girls’ badminton team enrolls over 50 girls annually.
For years, the allegations were referred to administration including athletic director Tim Bursey. However, parents said that Bursey had his own problems and was terminated after being caught having sex in the school's theater office with a female staff member.
Parents also wanted to know why Bursey had earned a salary of $299,000 after all the complaints had been made.
When asked for comment on all the allegations of abuse, Lisa Youngblood Hall
Chief Communications and Experience Officer for the Northshore School District said, "No Comment."
A day later, Youngblood sent another email which read, "Many of the claims made by the anonymous source have been thoroughly investigated. Upon receiving the communication with additional claims – also from an anonymous source – the District decided to once again engage an outside investigator to look into all claims. We are committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for our community."
McHenry told KOMO News Radio that he could provide "factual information or concrete evidence and others to interview including players and parents." KOMO plans to take McHenry up on his offer following winter break.
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