BREAKING NEWS: Miyares Asked to Intervene
Theo Marcus asks Attorney General Jason Miyares to 'initiate and conduct an independent review' of issues surrounding Riverbend High School swim team.
by Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Fallout from a meeting on Wednesday, December 20, that has led to RHS Principal Xavier Downs and RHS Head Swim Coach Rachael Adriani being placed on leave, continues to grow.
Today, Theo Marcus - who took a voluntary leave of absence as an assistant swim coach from the program prior to the Wednesday meeting - sent a letter to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares requesting he “initiate and conduct an independent review” of issues that have roiled the swim team since late November. A link to a PDF of the full letter is at the end of this story.
Marcus writes in his letter to Miyares:
… in my own behalf, on behalf of my family (and in behalf of several parents of RHS Varsity Swim Program student-athletes who, out of concern for reprisal, do not currently wish to be named openly in association with these matters), and as a fellow ‘officer of the court, to request that this office initiate and conduct an independent review of troubling matters that have led to the destruction, or near destruction, of the swim program in the middle of the VHSL season
Marcus, according to the letter, is “a senior attorney and legal official with an independent Federal agency located in Washington, D.C., a former federal prosecutor, and a person who has been practicing law for over 30 years in both the public and private sectors.”
Among the issues Marcus is requesting Miyares review are the following:
Placing Adriani on leave. Per the letter to Miyares, Ariani was placed on administrative leave:
without cause, solely because of her legitimate, documented efforts to safeguard the swimmers in our program from intense pressure, manipulation, abuse and other misconduct by a particular parent (who is very well-connected with officials in the Spotsylvania County Public School system, with apparent power to engage their efforts to advance her family’s interests) determined to influence the management and activity of the Program for her own purposes, and the utter failure of the Riverbend Athletic Department, led by Jesse Lohr, and the Riverbend administration, led by Xavier Downs, Principal (*recently placed on leave over these matters), to address the conduct transparently, fairly and expeditiously….
Concerns about an alleged “Illicit, non-consensual, secret video-recording of several of our children” during a recent practice at St. Michael’s High School.
Concerns about Downs’ actions at the Wednesday meeting.
Concerns about the replacement coach’s behavior toward student-athletes.
The letter concludes by asking Miyares to carry out:
… on a most urgent basis, an independent and full review and accounting of these matters by your office, one that includes the activities of the RHS Athletic Department and the Administration in the handling of our Program, but also including the SCPS Board and the Superintendent, Mr. Taylor, as those activities relate to these matters.
This is a developing story, and the Advance will continue to publish information as it becomes available.
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