AMID PRESSURE, PRESS WILL NOW BE ALLOWED AT SEMIFINAL GAME
By Ben Kaufmann
County Courier
The Winooski School District has reversed course on a decision made yesterday to bar media from attending Tuesday’s Division III boy’s soccer semifinal between Enosburg and Winooski. An announcement was made Tuesday morning in an email to the County Courier, that credentialed media will be welcome to cover the game in person. Non-media spectators are still prohibited from attending the game.
“The [Vermont Principals’ Association] in consultation with [The Winooski School District] as host district has decided that fully credentialed members of the press are welcome to attend today’s game,” wrote Emily Hecker, the Communications Director for the Winooski School District in an email to the County Courier.
County Courier owner Gregory Lamoureux and local journalist Mike Donoghue had prepared to file a seven-page lawsuit, seeking an emergency injunction on Tuesday morning to have press allowed at the game, which has drawn significant attention after a previous contest between Enosburg and Winooski ended in controversy.
The decision to ban media from the game was made by Winooski High School as the host of Tuesday’s game. The decision was supported by the Vermont Principals’ Association and Enosburg High School, according to an e-mail to the County Courier on Monday from VPA Executive Director Jay Nichols.
Winooski’s decision to exclude media coverage was made to “protect the physical and emotional safety of all student-athletes involved”, Winooski School District Superintendent Sean McMannon told the County Courier, though McMannon did not share how the presence of the media would harm student-athletes. The County Courier’s presence covering Friday’s BFA-Fairfax vs. Winooski quarterfinal went unnoticed and drew no objection from either school.
Local media had argued that its presence would be valuable at Tuesday’s contest, especially considering that a large problem with the first meeting between the two teams was the lack of an impartial observer to corroborate or refute claims from the Winooski players of racial abuse. An aggressive headbutt by a WHS player upon an Enosburg player was captured on video by a County Courier reporter at that first contest and was viewed by the Winooski Police Department, though criminal charges ultimately weren’t filed by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George.
The lawsuit alleging a first amendment violation was minutes away from being filed. It argued that freedom of the press was applicable here, noting that the game was hosted by a public school, funded by taxpayers, and the attention given to the first game made this contest a matter of significant public interest.
It also pointed out that the extensive news coverage of the allegations only came after Winooski Superintendent Sean McMannon published a scathing letter publicly condemning alleged racial abuse by members of the Enosburg Team. McMannon initially welcomed the news coverage, and an attempt now to halt any news coverage would be censorship by a government employee.
For fans who wish to watch the game, a livestream will be available at no cost and Winooski intends to share the link later today.
