Wednesday, September 20, 2000
CovCath
Hooligans must be stopped
The boys at Covington Catholic High School are known for aggressive cheering. At last weekend's football game, their testosterone-fueled lunacy reached new heights of poor taste.
Congratulations, guys. Your prize is an embarrassed principal, a scornful public and a bill for $200.
CovCath played Beechwood High School on Saturday. The schools, a mile apart in Northern Kentucky, have a longstanding rivalry. Beechwood has won the last seven games, including last weekend's contest.
The trouble began Thursday night, when two windows were smashed on a bus sitting outside Beechwood High in Fort Mitchell. The perpetrators left a sign that said “CovCath” and bragged, “We will outplay you, out cheer you, out hustle you ... out class you.”
About the same time, Beechwood flags were stolen off porches in the neighborhood. On Saturday, some of these flags — with holes burnt in them — were triumphantly displayed by CovCath students at the game.
Most shocking was their behavior before kickoff.
About 100 CovCath boys had lined up on the field to cheer as the team ran out, witnesses told me. Around this time, several dozen Beechwood fans were walking to the visitor's side. As they passed, 20 of the CovCath students serenaded them with obscene gestures and vulgar chants, including a reference to oral sex.
“That really makes you sick,” said Beechwood teacher Debbie Muth, who saw the incident. “There were so many little kids there.”
I spoke with two CovCath students who weren't surprised by the vulgarity, although they didn't hear it personally.
“They just get caught up, and they don't realize what they're doing, that they're making a bad name for our school,” junior Greg Hiltz said.
He lamented the misbehavior, but wasn't sure what could be done.
“We just get so rowdy. They make an attempt to stop us, but it's futile,” Greg said.
Another student, senior Andy Cronin, said Beechwood gets rowdy, too.
At halftime, Andy circled the field with CovCath's flag and was struck in the head by empty water bottles thrown from the Beechwood stands. Also on Saturday, someone painted “Tigers” — the Beechwood mascot — on CovCath's new track.
But Beechwood's cheering section is no match for CovCath's mob. Beechwood has only 300 students in ninth through 12th grades, and half are girls. By contrast, CovCath has 500 students — all boys.
To his credit, Principal Jack Kennevan acknowledges the problem. On Monday, he apologized to Beechwood's superintendent and agreed to pay for the broken windows.
The hooliganism will not be repeated, Mr. Kennevan says. But he isn't sure he will be able to punish the perpetrators, because their identities are unclear. He also has no plans to send a letter to parents seeking their help with the problem. It wouldn't be fair to chastise everyone for the misbehavior of a few, he says.
I respectfully disagree. There is a problem with the culture of this school. If only a few students are involved, how can they be so difficult to control?
It's time for parents, students and teachers to step up. Last weekend was an embarrassment to CovCath and a blow to the spirit of Christian education.
Karen Samples is The Enquirer's Kentucky columnist. Her column appears on Sundays and Thursdays in The Kentucky Enquirer. She can be reached at 578-5584 or email
her at ksamples@enquirer.com
SAMPLES ARCHIVE
