Basketball coach loses job after players investigated for sex crimes
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A sex crime investigation into basketball players at an Olympia high school has cost the 22-year coach his job. The coach himself is not involved in the crime, but is being reprimanded for failing to supervise the students who were.
Even though Doug Galloway reported the inappropriate activity as soon as he learned of it, the district says his days as coach of the Capital High boys' basketball team are done.
The problems arose at Western Washington University where Galloway took his team for a summer basketball camp. Galloway left his players for a few hours to attend a coach's social event, and while he was gone, two upper-classmen are suspected of forcing sexual contact with younger players.
"It's a horrible event. I wish it had never taken place," Galloway said. "I feel for everybody involved."
Galloway thought he left the team in good hands because an assistant coach was still around, as well as college players acting as chaperones.
"When I left that evening, I felt comfortable the kids would be safe," Galloway said. "There were people there to watch them and make sure they would be as safe as possible."
Even though Galloway reported the incident as soon as he found out, the school district still believes he must be held accountable. At the same time, the district plans to keep Galloway as the coach of the girls' golf team and as a P.E. instructor.
Does Galloway think the district was sending mixed messages?
"I really want to be able to continue teaching," he said. "I really want to be able to continue coaching. So realistically, I feel thankful they're still allowing me to do those things."
The Whatcom County prosecutor has declined to file any criminal charges against the students involved. The district says the students did receive academic discipline, but refused to offer any details.
Even though Doug Galloway reported the inappropriate activity as soon as he learned of it, the district says his days as coach of the Capital High boys' basketball team are done.
The problems arose at Western Washington University where Galloway took his team for a summer basketball camp. Galloway left his players for a few hours to attend a coach's social event, and while he was gone, two upper-classmen are suspected of forcing sexual contact with younger players.
"It's a horrible event. I wish it had never taken place," Galloway said. "I feel for everybody involved."
Galloway thought he left the team in good hands because an assistant coach was still around, as well as college players acting as chaperones.
"When I left that evening, I felt comfortable the kids would be safe," Galloway said. "There were people there to watch them and make sure they would be as safe as possible."
Even though Galloway reported the incident as soon as he found out, the school district still believes he must be held accountable. At the same time, the district plans to keep Galloway as the coach of the girls' golf team and as a P.E. instructor.
Does Galloway think the district was sending mixed messages?
"I really want to be able to continue teaching," he said. "I really want to be able to continue coaching. So realistically, I feel thankful they're still allowing me to do those things."
The Whatcom County prosecutor has declined to file any criminal charges against the students involved. The district says the students did receive academic discipline, but refused to offer any details.
Doug Galloway is a good man with a great heart for kids,and a love for his job not all teachers of have. He is a father and a teacher who has walked a path to show Kids the possibilites of working  hard and doing a good job. Doug is great with the kids and to see the school  not holding the kids responsible blows my mind, as a mother of two little boys I am outraged on how the school is dealing with this. Doug Galloway is an example of what a teacher should be, he takes time with each students to make them feel impprtant. I have seen first hand Doug working with the life skills P.E. class and seeing him show each student that no matter what his or hres disability is we our all amazing. I feel that this is a shame to put this on his name as a teacher and a man who has worked so hard. I am very sad about this I am  praying for him and his family to have faith and be strong.
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Coach Galloway was a man who looked out for me and my well being. He is 1 of very few Teachers/Coaches I still remember to this day for being a positive influence on me. It would be a shame to let one of the good ones go.
Letter to the principal of Capitol High School
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Dear Mr. Woods:
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I am writing to respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision to remove Doug Galloway from his position as basketball coach.
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From all the news stories I have read about the incident, it is quite evident that Doug did everything he could have and should have done. He does not deserve to be punished for the actions of two deviant students who made poor decisions. The ones who need to be punished are the two students who decided to engage in forced sexual contact with the younger ones. High school students in their junior or senior year, i.e. students at the age of 16, 17 or 18, really ought to be expected to behave themselves and should not need to be supervised 24 hours a day as if they were two years old. And when THEY make a poor decision, in spite of everything they have been taught about respecting others, THEY are the ones who need to be held accountable.
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It is extremely unfair to destroy the career and reputation of a fine man such as Doug Galloway because of the ill-advised actions of two students. Please reconsider this decision and restore him as basketball coach, for the sake of the hundreds, even thousands of kids who have benefited and will still benefit from his good influence and positive example.
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Sincerely,
Ellen M. Whiting
Tacoma, WA
It wasn't Mr. Woods decision, it was the OSD's decision
This is total crap. Coach Galloway is and was a great coach and teacher. I was one of his students at White River years ago. This man does not deserve this. This is total crap, and it just goes to show instead of blaming the parents and kids, people want to blame the teachers. Maybe parents and these kids should be held responsible for their own stupid decisions and not the coach/teacher.Â
That's bull, totally bull. Â From the information above, he did everything anyone of us parents would expect him to do, and in a timely fashion. Â He didn't do anything wrong. Â The only parties here who should pay are the ones who did the crime. Â They are old enough to be criminally prosecuted. Â What does removing an experienced and caring coach do for anyone involved or the school? Â Seems like the "officials" are trying too hard to look like they did something. Â
How about holding the kids responsible for their own behavior? This man did everything that could have been expected of him to make sure the kids were supervised and as far as I can tell he did nothing wrong. Had he
been in the hotel was he expected to supervise 24/7 for the duration? That's why when you have a group of kids on an outing there are always extra eyes. But even having all the supervision in place doesn't guarantee that everything is going to run smooth 100% of the time. KIds find ways around authority figures if they want to
do something bad enough.....put the blame where it belongs.
 @Jatok This wasn't a hotel room, this happened in the residental halls of the WWU campus
I stand corrected, but the bottom line to me doesn't change.
So some players forced sexual contact on younger players and don't get charged with any crime but the coach who had nothing to do with it get's fired!?!?!? Um.............
Ok... so reading the comments, it is obvious that there is a ton of confusion about how this camp works. As a parent who has had students go to the camp, here it is:
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Parents enroll their kids in thie camp directly with WWU. The coaches come with their teams to the camp to take part in a team camp that is run by WWU. The University players and staff run the camp and oversee the activities of the high school students that are there to attend the camps. While on campus, the High School players stay in the residence halls during the camp for a week - essentially like a regular Summer Camp experience. The high school Coaches are there to participate with their teams in some activities, but are also there to go to "camp" as well, by having their own meetings and functions with the other coaches and with the WWU coaching staff. While the High School Coaches supervise their own kids part of the time, the ultimate responsibility for the safety and function of the campers falls to the UNIVERSITY Staff. It is not expected that the high school coaches will be the ones in charge of the campers 24/7!
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Based on this article, it sounds like the coach exercised proper discression in his role, and placed the proper amount of reliance on the WWU staff to oversee the campers while he was away.  IF anyone needs to be taken to task, it would be the WWU staff. Now.... given that the Whatcom County Prosecuter has determined that no activity took place that warrants anyone being charged, I am a little suspect of the nature of the allegations. The Whatcom Prosecuter is not exactly a slack office when it comes to criminal prosecution, so for them to decline to follow up with charges indicates that the alleged "forced" contact may not necesarily be all it's cracked up to be.
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in the end, the firing of this coach should be contested - this guy has 22 years of service, and is now being held accoutable for the activities of children who's parents enroled them in a program which was clearly administered outside of the coaches control.
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 @jepaulsen Thanks for the clarification.  And "devon delaney" seems to have had a slightly different route for the money to pay for the camp.  But it's clear that parents are the ones who decide whether their student will attend this non-school function.  The coach didn't take the kids on a school outing requiring permission slips and school approval (as suggested by the now seriously discredited school admin).  This teacher/coach did what needed to be done and the school admin has opened itself up to a lawsuit.  I hope he can take them to task for their irresponsible actions in this fiasco.
I went to this camp, and was part of a team. My parents didnt enroll me in the camp directly with WWU. We each simply paid the camp fee to our head coach and were enrolled as a team.
But is the basketball team any good....
 @Windowseat I go to the school and i they went like 15-6 which is pretty good!
Basically it sounds like you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't! Is anybody not looking at the assistant coach since it seemed to be happening on his watch? I don't get this.
there is no way this guy is 22
@michelle it means he has been a coach for 22 years
that makes more sense thanks
 @michelle It took me a few extra reads, too. :)
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"the 22-year coach" So he was coaching since he was born?
I went to this camp two years in highschool ('06 and '07). You had the option to be dorm campers or off campus campers. I lived in bellingham so I would go home every night but the option of a hotel was there too. The coaches had meetings they went to back then after camp hours too so if its anything like it was the students were left in the dorms with college athlete supervision and assistant coach supervision on each floor if they were dorm campers.  To fire him as a coach of just the basketball team because of what happened behind closed doors in a campers dorm room, but to keep him as the coach of golf and teach PE is wrong. If he was fired because he was neglectful, which it sounds like is what they are going for, what would make golf and PE any different of a platform? Very Inconsistant. If he's a danger to the basketball kids, he is a danger to kids in general. If not, let him keep his job.
the silver lining is that its great that the school is so supportive of those who lead, ahem, "alternative lifestyles". the upper classmen on the varsity team being gay is a big step. not every school is this supportive.
Clearly a bad decision by the district, unless there is more to this story than they are telling. Else, I think there should be some scrutiny into that school board and perhaps some discipline there.
According to this article the coach did nothing wrong. If the school fired him as the basketball coach and will allow him to teach PE and coach golf. Don't they teach children double standards are wrong?
Those who passed judgement on this man should be investigated by higher authorities as this plainly unfair.
Too much organized sports. Â Let kids play in the neighborhoods by themselves and build peer relationships.
 @None Yeah, let's let 'em molest each other on their own.
 @None Well unfortunately in today's world, kids playing by themselves in neighborhoods usually leads to gangs, drug deals, and drive by shootings.
AMEN!
Can you spell S.C.A.P.E.G.O.A.T. ?? Also: if the district is going to keep him in his other role as girls coach etc...they're setting themselves up for a lawsuit. If they've got a case, they should fire him. If not, then don't.
I don't think he should be fired for this. If anything he should be fired for being a bad teacher. Then again I had him for a social studies class and all he wanted to do was teach PE and coach. He didn't want to teach the class so I don't think he even cared.
I would like to add that even though I did not like him as a teacher I do have a lot of respect for him now after reading this article.
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@MysteryMan Allow me to clarify my comment for those who are illiterate. He is not a good teacher. He is a good coach. He did not deserve to be fired for this.Â
The Kids involved in this hazing or what ever went on should be suuspended from the team as well.These kids were old enough to know better.
I would like to know, If the assistant coach as well as older players, were in charge while Galloway was at the social event, Why are they not getting any fire in their direction? And really??? The students involed had no criminal charges, but had only an accidemic discipline. I think its compleetly unfair to Galloway that everything is resting on his shoulders. He was my P.E. Teacher for 3 years. He is the most amazing teacher I have had the honer of knowing. He has an amzing way with the students. Coaching and teaching are only 2 things this man is VERY passionate about. My thoughts and prayers go out to you Mr. Galloway!!!!!
He should be fired completely. Not only did he fail to supervise the kids, he blames others for his mistakes. He needs to be taught a lesson. You don't leave teenage boys unsupervised in a hotel. He was the coach, it's no one's fault but his; you certainly can't blame it on a bunch of college kids who probably didn't even know they were "chaperones".Â
So even if this man was in the hotel with these kids would it be reasonable to expect that he could stay awake 24/7 the entire time? Perhaps the ones who should take responsibility for their behavior are the players themselves. I don't know if you've ever raised any teenagers, but
they find ways to break the rules and not one single person can keep an eye on them every second of every day.
 @Asa He didn't leave them unsupervised! Read the article! He left them with the assistant coach and several college students who were chaperones! What more could he have done? Of course the college kids knew they were 'chaperones'. Why ELSE would they be with a high school team?
 @Asa He left the team with an Assistant Coach. So he did not leave them unsupervised. But don't you think these boys are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong? I think the kids that did this horrible act should be charged.
@Asa Feel free to back up your moronic comment with FACTS.
 @Asa What an Asa. How is he supposed to watch these kids, all of whom should know better, 24/7. I cannot find fault in anything that Coach Galloway did. Any other coach in this country would not have done anything different. How could he have known that the upperclassmen would act up?
 @Asa "You don't leave teenage boys unsupervised in a hotel. "
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Where does it mention anything about a hotel. They were in a residential hall on the WWU campus when the hazing occurred and campus police were involved.
 @Asa Did you miss the part where there was an actual "coaches' social event"? How about the part where other coaches were there as well? Or, maybe you think that when kids go to basketball camp an adult sleeps in every single room with them?Â
They don't. No one can supervise another person 100% of the time.
Goodness...
 @Asa Yeah, it's all his fault. His players responsible for this act are completely innocent
Um, ok? Did I miss the memo? Coach has back up for watching the kids, he's away for a moment, but has back up to watch the kids. The kids do something stupid WHILE the back up is in place, coach finds out about it, tells the authourities and HE gets busted?
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Um, ok? So, what happened the the ones who were the back up. The ones ACTUALLY watching the kids? What happened to them?
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Holy crud in a half, are ya nuts? Firing the COACH for doing the RIGHT thing? Heck, that's like the USADA going to strip Lance Armstrong of his 7 titles because he won't fight something stupid.
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Stupid. VERY stupid. Take him off the team yet leave him with another?
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You're so stupid. I guess that' s the type of school district you like to run. Glad my child's not there. I'd have to pick up and move because I'd not want my child to see how bad things can go for doing the right thing.
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Just sad.
Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if those hazers end up transferring schools and avoiding any punishment by the school and the school district.
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As an alum of Capital in 2003. I'm sick that this is how Galloway gets treated about 11 years of loyalty to his alma matter.
So he's the one who's acting with integrity and accountability and he gets punished? Something is horribly wrong with this picture. That is such a disgraceful decision by the school district. They should be ashamed of themselves for doing that...sends quite the wrong message. Kuddos to the coach for reporting this behavior!
Note: The one I'm referring to when I say "he" is the coach of course.
Typical chickensh*t education bureaucrats. Have to find a scapegoat. I hope this coach sues the district for every penny.
 @LockesChild He's coaching girls golf and still teaching gym so obviously he's not going to do thatÂ
 @Sky Robinson No, he could easily do that. In fact, by filing he very well might prevent more unfair retribution from occurring after this furor dies down.