CHICAGO — The head volleyball coach at Amundsen High School has resigned from her position after criticism that followed disparaging comments made on her radio show about vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s son, the district confirmed.
“As a system, we are committed to serving all students and we strive to ensure a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment, free of any bias, discrimination or harassment. We strongly disagree with any remarks contrary to those values,” a Chicago Public Schools spokesman said regarding the coach, Amy Jacobson.
Jacobson’s resignation follows criticism that stemmed from a conversation with co-host Dan Proft on their WIND-AM radio show on August 22, the day after Walz’s son, Gus, captured attention with his emotional reaction to seeing his dad on the DNC stage. “That’s my dad!” the 17-year-old could be seen saying, with tears streaming down his face, as his father accepted his party’s nomination.
‘That’s my dad!’: Gus Walz tearfully cheers on his father as he accepts Democratic VP nomination
On their “Chicago’s Morning Answer” radio show, Jacobson mimicked Gus Walz’s emotional reaction as Proft recalled and played a 1994 “Saturday Night Live” of Chris Farley portraying a young, exuberant Andrew Giuliani gushing over his dad, Rudy Giuliani, portrayed by Kevin Nealon.
“That’s exactly what that Walz kid did,” Proft said. “I mean, he’s not 11. He’s 17.”
Gus Walz lives with a learning disorder that’s said to limit a person’s ability to read social cues. In an exclusive statement to ‘People’ earlier this month, Tim and Gwen Walz described the teen’s condition as his “super power.”
“When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates. Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself. When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have,” the family’s statement said. “Like so many American families, it took us time to figure out how to make sure we did everything we could to make sure Gus would be set up for success as he was growing up. It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback — it’s his secret power.”
Critics called Jacobson’s characterization insensitive. The Chicago Tribune was first to report the demand by Amundsen parents to fire Jacobson from her coaching position. Her biography on the school’s website, since removed, previously indicated that she’d been involved with the volleyball program for several years and has two sons on the varsity team. One parent quoted by the Tribune said the high school is “definitely a place where there are lots of kids with disabilities in the building.”
Jacobson later publicly apologized, saying on air that she would have “reacted differently if I had the additional information,” adding: “I had no idea he had any type of learning disability or ADHD.”
Proft appears to have lost his board position with Envision Unlimited, an organization that describes itself as providing care for people with intellectual, developmental and psychiatric disabilities, as a consequence of his remarks. In a statement released Sunday and provided to WGN, the organization without naming Proft said a board member “made comments that were wholly inconsistent with our values and code of ethics as an organization and at their core insensitive and insulting to the very people and families that we serve.”
“We immediately convened our board’s executive committee to discuss the situation and unanimously decided to remove this individual from our board,” the statement said.
Proft’s name no longer appears on the organization’s website.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
Source Agencies
