KELSEYVILLE — An altercation between a Kelseyville High School administrator and a Middletown High School student and his mother during halftime of a varsity boys” basketball game Friday at Kelseyville High School will be investigated by Kelseyville Unified School District staff, according to KUSD Superintendent Boyce McClain.
“This morning I held a meeting with three district administrators, one school board member and the district”s school resource officer,” McClain said Tuesday. “All five of these people were involved in or witnessed the events that led to the ejection of a Middletown student and his mother from the Kelseyville gym.
“I received verbal and written reports of the incident. The information describes the extensive severity of the verbal and physical altercations that took place. There were a multitude of witnesses from Middletown and Kelseyville that witnessed the events of the evening,” McClain added.
All information regarding the incident will be forwarded to the District Attorney”s office for review and could result in a complaint being filed, according to McClain.
Vulgarities allegedly directed at a Kelseyville player by a Middletown student in the first half of the Middletown-Kelseyville game prompted Kelseyville High School principal Matt Cockerton to ask the student to leave the game during the halftime intermission. A heated verbal exchanged followed in the lobby of the gym that also involved the student”s mother. The altercation then spilled out into the upper parking lot just outside the gym”s main entrance.
Officers from the Lake County Sheriff”s Department and California Highway Patrol responded to the scene, but no arrests were made, according to McClain.
Cockerton was later transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital because of breathing difficulties. He was released early Saturday morning.
“Mr. Cockerton has gone through a medical examination and continues to have doctor appointments,” McClain said. “He appears to be OK, however, I have pulled him from further crowd supervision for the remainder of the basketball season in order to make sure he has no further medical complications. The high school basketball season ends this weekend.”
McClain added that this was a precautionary step and that Cockerton in no way was being punished for his actions on Friday night.
“We just want to make sure Matt is OK,” McClain said.
McClain said he had not yet discussed the matter with Dr. Korby Olsen, superintendent of the Middletown Unified School District, but would do so shortly.
“I”m going to call him tomorrow,” McClain said.
“We”re going to review what happened very carefully,” McClain said. “Any time an employee gets injured I”m going to take a look at things to see if we could have done something better. I”m not saying we did anything wrong, I just want to review everything that happened just to be sure.”
Kelseyville hosts the North Central League I North postseason tournament on Thursday and Friday. Middletown, Lower Lake, Willits and Fort Bragg will compete in the boys” bracket while Middletown, Kelseyville, Willits and Fort Bragg are entered in the girls” bracket.
“Inappropriate behavior during athletic contests with our neighbors should not happen,” McClain said. “When they do, we must take a close look at each incident and focus on what should be done to ensure that students have the opportunity to compete in a non-hostile environment.”
Brian Sumpter can be reached at rbsports@aol.com.
