Water polo team’s Speedo celebration removed after school trustee’s stripper jibe
Men’s water polo players (stock image via Getty Images)
Two trustees of a California school district have been criticised for comments they made regarding members of a high school water polo team.
The trustees came under fire for their reaction to a photograph of a group of swimmers that circulated, showing them cheering on their peers on the baseball team while wearing swimwear.
Temecula Valley High School’s water polo team attended a baseball game in between swim meets on 28 April, and showed their support for the team by pulling down their trousers and taking off their shirts to reveal their Speedos and the word ‘B-E-A-R-S-!’ written across their chests.
The fun photo was later posted to the Temecula Valley’s baseball team’s social media accounts with the caption: “Our fans > better than yours. GO BEARS.” The post has since been removed.
Before it disappeared, however, Temecula Valley Unified School District Board President Joseph Komrosky and member Jen Wiersma commented on the photo.
Komrosky said that the high school athletes were “one step closer to Chippendales”, while Wiersma likened them to an “OnlyFans crew”. Their comments received significant backlash for being inappropriate.
Speaking to Press Enterprise on 9 May, a parent of one of the members of the water polo team, Sharon Sardina, said: “The fans loved it, the team loved it, the baseball coach loved it. Everybody loved the support and thought that was pretty cool because that’s typically what water polo players do as far as cheering on their teams.”
She went on to say she would not be “sweeping this under the rug” and has met with the school’s superintendent, principal and compliance officer to complain.
“I would love a written and verbal apology, not just to myself, but to the kids involved in our team,” she said. “I honestly, I would love a formal resignation [of the board members]. This pattern of behavior has created discomfort among so many families that I just think that they need to resign.”
Sardina shared that Wiersma posted an apology for her comment on her stories, but it has since expired, and screenshots are unavailable. Both Wiersma and Komrosky declined to comment formally.
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