School Superintendent overreacts to volunteer coach clowning around

Minnesota — There’s a new victim in the media hyped creepy clown phenomenon and this time it’s an unsuspecting coach that was just trying to have a little fun at the end of freshman soccer season.

I don’t like to do these “hit and run stories,” nor do I wish to add to the social media-fueled  creepy clown debacle, but the case of Ben Hildre is unfortunate.

Hildre, the freshmen girls soccer and junior varsity girls basketball coach at St. Francis High School in St. Francis Minnesota, found himself without a team Friday after he posed as a clown for a few laughs — hiding behind a trash can with a “creepy clown” mask on.

Once his players posted a pic of him kidding around, it went viral and reached the school’s Superintendent who didn’t find it very amusing.

The next day Hildre received a letter which in 18 words told him that his services as a volunteer coach were no longer welcome.

Hildre told KMSP that the whole thing is “blown out of proportion, I feel like I’ve lost my family.” He went on to tell the Fox affiliate that he “wasn’t aware of the so-called creepy clown craze.”

Superintendent Troy Ferguson, said, “the safety and security of kids is not an overreaction.”

Really? That’s the line your PR guy told you to say. Come on, how does a dedicated coach just trying to have some fun threaten the “safety and security of kids”?

Apparently, I’m not the only one doubting the district’s response. Hildre’s players brought their concerns to the school board, but at the time of publish they had not reached a decision regarding the coach’s future.

The truth of the matter is, in a time when we hear nothing but bad news regarding player-coach relations, the last thing we should be doing is punishing a coach for being a force for good.

One more thing – for the love of God cut the creepy clown crap out, all it does is cause problems.