The white Wisconsin father who stood onstage and shoved a black school superintendent during his daughter’s high school graduation ceremony denied Friday that he was racist.
Matt Eddy did not appear in person at the court hearing, but his attorney made it clear that the incident had nothing to do with color.
“My client understands the concerns about racism,” said attorney Karl Gebhard III.
“What happened on May 31 had absolutely nothing to do with race.”
Baraboo School Superintendent Rainey Briggs was in court seeking a restraining order against Eddy. It was granted by the judge.
A judge granted Superintendent Rainey Briggs (pictured) a restraining order against the father who attacked him during the Baraboo High School graduation.
Matt Eddy, 49, took the stage at his daughter’s high school graduation to avoid the superintendent from shaking his hand.
Briggs told the court he needed the restraining order not only for his safety, but also for the safety of his family members, colleagues and students he encounters daily.
Eddy, 49, did not show up for the hearing in Dane County Court in Madison, where Briggs testified and presented videos showing the angry father forcibly preventing him from shaking his daughter’s hand as she was about to receive her diploma.
“You’re not going to touch my damn daughter,” the father was heard saying. He later explained that he was furious about the district’s treatment of his daughter, who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons that have not been publicly disclosed.
Last week, Briggs was granted a temporary restraining order. During Friday’s hearing, he was granted a four-year order that carries a $10,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail if he violates it.
The superintendent argued that he needed the order to ensure not only his safety but also that of his family members, colleagues and students he encounters daily.
“The bottom line is that I work with superintendents all over the country and there is not a single superintendent in the country that can attest to this ever happening to them,” he said. ‘And the breakdown in security, the breakdown in civility is unprecedented in the work we do every day as educators.
“It’s really unfortunate because there were a lot of upset people tonight,” he added. ‘My heart goes out to his students, to his daughter, to the 3,000 people in the stadium that night. Hopefully these things can be resolved in some positive way.”
Eddy’s lawyer, Gebhard, explained that his actions were those of an immature father.
“The truth here is that we have a father who was upset about the way his daughter was being treated by the district, and particularly the superintendent,” he said. “My client’s actions are immature, condescending and incredibly embarrassing.”
But Gebhard argued that his client did not actually hurt, threaten or attempt to intimidate Briggs.
“My client made a mistake and it was a shameful and immature act,” he said. “But your honor, immature acts are not harassment.”
Eddy’s lawyer told the court his actions were “immature, condescending and incredibly disgraceful.”
Judge Nia Trammel sided with the superintendent, saying the evidence “certainly suggests to the court that there was an attempt at intimidation.”
He was also particularly sensitive in claiming that this was racially motivated. Eddy is white and Briggs was the only black man among several administrators lined up on stage to present diplomas and congratulate graduates.
“My client would have made the same decision at that time no matter who the superintendent was,” the attorney said.
Briggs never directly accused Eddy of racism.
“What I did say is that the optics don’t look good,” he said. “And I want to be very clear that the optics don’t look good given that it wasn’t specifically Dr. Briggs who did something, but Dr. Briggs was the one who was attacked.”
Judge Nia Trammel sided with the superintendent, saying the evidence “certainly suggests to the court that there was an attempt at intimidation.”
“Even when Dr. Briggs attempted to create space between himself and Mr. Eddy, Mr. Eddy continued to approach him and ultimately had to be escorted off the property in the process by off-duty police officers “said the judge in granting the order.
In an exclusive interview on Tuesday, Briggs told DailyMail.com that Eddy’s lawyer called him offering remorse a day earlier.
But during the interview at his home, Briggs said, “An apology just doesn’t make things go away.”
Eddy, 49, was escorted out of the building after the confrontation and arrested for disorderly conduct.
“I don’t think an apology, an ‘I’m sorry’ is going to make this go away because a lot of damage was done,” Briggs told DailyMail.com.
The reason for the confrontation is still unclear. Eddy spoke during a police interview about the school’s expulsion of his daughter and blamed school officials for her treatment.
Briggs said he has no role in any disciplinary action and did not recognize Eddy when he came to press charges.
Briggs told DailyMail.com that he is not ready to forgive the actions and that an apology will not make them go away.
In police interview footage obtained by DailyMail.com, Eddy attempted to claim that he did not initiate physical contact between the two men.
“I wouldn’t have been able to pick this guy out in any crowd,” he said. “It wasn’t until later that I was able to look up his name in the system to see who he was.”
At a school board meeting Monday night, board members stood to read aloud their statement condemning Eddy’s actions and defending the superintendent.
Briggs did not attend, but said he has no intention of leaving his leadership position.
DailyMail.com obtained the video of Eddy’s interview with police, and Briggs during the hearing clicked on the posted video and showed it to the judge.
“I didn’t want him to be able to shake his damn hand because he didn’t deserve it after all the shit he went through in this district,” Eddy told investigators.
It’s unclear what incident Eddy’s daughter was involved in, but she alluded to some problems with other students that led to her expulsion.
“They kicked her out for doing the same thing they did to her,” Eddy said.
The father claimed it was Briggs who initiated the physical contact.
“I didn’t touch him until he touched me,” he said.
However, surveillance footage shows that when Eddy jumped on stage, he grabbed Briggs by the arm and walked him to the curtain.
Eddy denied pre-planning the episode and told police he even left when Briggs gave his speech.
At the beginning of the nearly two-minute-long interaction, Eddy is seen with his arms crossed and pacing the stands.
However, surveillance footage shows that when Eddy jumped on stage, he grabbed Briggs by the arm and walked him to the curtain.
As his daughter moved forward in the procession, Eddy ran in front of the stage, applauded his daughter and then jumped up the steps to catch up with Briggs.
After pulling the superintendent back, the two men exchange words and then Briggs shoves Eddy.
That’s when Baraboo High School Principal Steve Considine, seen in a tan jacket, inserts himself between the two men.
“When I heard Dr. Briggs say something like ‘get your hands off me…’ that’s when I turned my head and saw there was some kind of fight going on,” Considine said.
“That’s when I stepped forward and got between Dr. Briggs and this guy, Mr. Eddy, I don’t know his name, and then he was pushing me back.”
Several others join in to break up the confrontation and Eddy hides behind the stage curtain.
The clash occurred at a time of conflict in the district. The superintendent and school board have come under fire from a group of angry residents.
They are currently trying to oust school board president Kevin Vodak, who was at the graduation.
Vodak has been accused of favoritism and offering inadequate salaries and support to teachers.
Briggs has come under fire for his pay and that of other administrators, while contracts awarded to his consulting firms have also come under scrutiny.
Eddy denied pre-planning the episode and told police he even left when Briggs gave his speech.
He said he was angry at Briggs for rolling his eyes at his daughter during a disciplinary meeting.
Critics also noted high staff turnover during his tenure and student behavior problems.
The school district said in a statement: ‘Our primary focus remains celebrating the achievements of our graduates.
“We want to ensure that the importance of this milestone and the hard work of our students are not overshadowed by this unfortunate event.”
The district added that it is working with authorities.
“We would like to emphasize that the safety and well-being of our students, staff and community members is a top priority…The Baraboo School District is taking this incident very seriously.”