Letter to the Editor - With: Enrollment to SFW is not solely for football

I have thought about this for a week or so and I have decided to share my opinion publicly. There was an opinion piece that our son is the subject of that was recently published by our local newspaper. I feel that to an extent the article is bullying and is not a representation of what we in Brandon refer to as The Lynx Way. I will post the response that I initially shared with the author privately below and will link to the article. To be clear, Dveyoun is not the first player to transfer from Brandon Valley in recent years and Brandon Valley has enjoyed the benefit of several players from other communities playing football here among other sports. However, to my knowledge he is the first to be singled out and have such an article written about him....

“I have a number of issues with what you wrote about my son.

Let’s start with the fact that you were in touch with him, but never asked the questions that you seem to imply by your article. Never asked why he was transferring etc. I’ll let you know it has nothing to do with football, at least not high school football. I still have a great deal of admiration for Coach C and my younger boys are still attending his camps this summer. 

He has a dream of playing college football and with the offers he’s received recently it appears that dream can become a reality. His grades last fall were not great and we felt we needed to do something about that so that he would have opportunities to further himself in the future. His grades did improve significantly in the spring, but the decision had been made by then. The grading scale in Sioux Falls is 90-80-70-60. Brandon’s is 92-83-74-65. That could literally be the difference between him being able to play day 1 in college or having to go to a junior college.

Additionally, the minority population in Brandon is 12 percent and at Washington it is 52 percent. I care much more about how comfortable he is than how the decision of a 16-year-old makes you feel. Honestly, it’s kind of strange that you care so much.

Lastly, “If last year is any indication, Dveyoun and the Warriors are likely in for a rough night.” “I’m really looking forward to August 31.” This sounds like a grown man hoping for the downfall of a 16-year-old. Call me crazy, but I expected to find a bit more support from our community in my attempt to put my son in the best position possible to pursue his dreams.”

Delton Witte

Brandon

Category:

The Brandon Valley Journal

 

The Brandon Valley Journal
1404 E. Cedar St.
Brandon, SD 57005
(605) 582-9999

Email Us

Facebook Twitter

Please Login for Premium Content