West Des Moines Valley Girls Wrestling Legal

On the evening of December 9th, 2022, while being fully aware that the girls' wrestling team was using the locker room after practice, many of them showering or in various forms of undress, two male Valley High School coaches from a different sport entered the locker room, telling the girls they needed to vacate the locker room immediately. The coaches were aware girls were using the locker room but entered it anyway and remained in there even after being told again that girls were showering and changing. Some of our girls asked and some demanded them to leave as they felt uncomfortable with them present while being in a vulnerable state. Yet this was denied by men of authority.

This issue was reported to Valley High School and the district administration. Unfortunately, the recommendations and efforts following the district investigation into this matter fall short of any meaningful action. During the investigation, statements were received from multiple girls recounting the events of that evening. Nearly all of those girls wrote their statements while still fresh in their minds on the evening of December 9th. Despite our girls doing the right thing – sticking up for themselves, making accurate statements and providing them to those in charge – they do not see the outcomes they need so that they can feel comfortable, without the threat of their privacy and safety being violated, at school and in the locker room.

These coaches acted as though they were beyond reproach; walking in on minors of the opposite sex while showering and changing clothes. In 2022/2023 there is no excuse for this behavior; one cannot simply claim ignorance or refer to a lack of a specific policy to justify or excuse their actions. Yet these coaches continue to coach as if nothing happened. We want our kids to go to school in a district where there are consequences for such actions; where this behavior will not be tolerated.

The district, through its inaction, has sent a message to girls, children, throughout the district. That message is about their worth; what their comfort is worth, what their voice is worth, what their sense of safety is worth, what their expectation of privacy and decency is worth, and what their trust in the school and its leaders is worth. What are the circumstances in which their trust, privacy and modesty can be flagrantly violated by school employees without meaningful consequence? Is it only when a perpetrator is a man? Or if they are the coach of a more popular sport? Or are we okay turning a blind eye only when a stark power differential exists and there is a clear use and abuse of that power to intimidate naked girls?

We send our children to school and activities to learn and grow – what are we teaching them if we allow these perpetrators to continue to coach, teach and be around our children? We entrust our schools with our children’s safety, understanding that their learning and growth will occur in an environment free of threat from administrators, faculty and staff, including coaches. We also understand that when that trust is violated there should be consequences. Continuing to see those coaches on the bench only means our children's safety, privacy, right to decency, or the trust they should be able to have in our school leaders are not valued.

Due to the inaction and lack of consequences from West Des Moines Community Schools (WDMCS) we are asking for donations to help support a legal fund. This fund will be used to cover legal expenses while we work to hold WDMCS accountable and make sure that nobody's daughter has to worry about these coaches, or any coaches in the future, violating their privacy and modesty. Any funds received in excess of the legal fees will be donated to the West Des Moines Valley Girls Wrestling program.