This is the text of the letter Athletic Director JP Soulagnet sent out to the families of MS football players. I fully endorse JP’s approach to this issue.

Dear Families and Friends of Corbett 7th/8th Grade Football –

First I want to thank Brian Davis for the e-mail he sent out regarding the end of the year celebration and the fact that he and his family will not be in attendance. I spoke with Randy Burbach this evening and asked him to move the event to a different venue so that all of the athletes and their families could attend and feel comfortable about the location and enjoy the season. He was unyielding and emphatically said no for a number of reasons. As a school district and athletic department we do not support nor condone the decision to hold an end of season celebration at Hooter’s for any of our teams, groups, or clubs cross the board and at at all levels including high school. This was a choice made by Randy Burbach on his own accord. This is no longer a Corbett Middle School Football event.

I’m disappointed on a many different levels. The one that affects me the most however is the fact that “the team” is the one that loses out. It has become an issue that is no longer about your boys.

Another unfortunate thing is that we will lose coaches that did a great job turning a group of middle school boys into a cohesive, affective football team. I’m very supportive of the time and effort that they have put in and contributed towards Corbett Football but cannot further support them in coaching roles here at Corbett based on the unwillingness to change the location of this event to a more appropriate spot.

I spoke to many people over the weekend regarding the location of the event and time after time they looked at me in disbelief. I started the conversation off with posing a question. Outside of a bar, tavern, or strip club where would be the next worse place in the lines of restaurants to take a middle school football team to? Time after time the reply was Hooters.

Their menu and food is good! They however are not known worldwide for their family style restaurant. If you have never been to a Hooter’s restaurant you can visit their website at www.hooters.com. This international chain bills itself as “delightfully tacky yet unrefined”.

Some might say that this restaurant objectifies women. I would tend to agree. It is not a restaurant that I would feel good about my wife or daughter working at. I think it sends the wrong message to our young men and that saddens and worries me the most. I’m surprised that more families are not concerned. If my son had played on this team our family would not be in attendance as well. As a 21 year old he was shocked about the location.