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Eric Henderson apologized on Thursday for his "poor choice of words" in a 2006 email which resurfaced this week and plagued him on the heels of his departure from the top coaching spot at West Potomac High School .
In a 2006 correspondence between Henderson and former WPHS Assistant Coach Willie McCallum, Henderson threatened he would "destroy the kid and his chances of getting a scholarship" after the player's father had criticized Henderson's football program.
"I apologized to the parents and the student," Henderson said via the Thursday email, adding that West Potomac was aware of the situation. "[I]t was hypothetical, no evidence any retaliation was ever done on the student."
Addressing the contents of the email, Henderson said: "It was a poor choice of words and not reflective of my 19 years in education."
A source told Patch Tuesday that Fairfax County Public Schools decided not to renew Henderson's contract but in an email to faculty late Wednesday, West Potmac Principal Cliff Hardison said: "FCPS as a system had no role in Eric Henderson’s non-renewal as coach."
The source added that Henderson was forced out of the coaching position as a result of "off-field factors including improper fundraising and player eligibility violations." Hardison didn't address the validity of this point in Wednesday night's email obtained by Patch.
Hardison went on to commend Henderson and said he will remain a teacher in the school's Social Studies department.
"Being a coach is very difficult, no matter what the sport. It demands hours and dedication and passion," Hardison said. "A coach’s personal life loses time. It takes a special individual to coach.
"He and his sons, our students, need support during this difficult time and do not need innuendo and rumors to deal with and I would hope such stops," Hardison concluded in the email.
Tyler Brady
2:27 pm on Friday, March 16, 2012
Coach Henderson is only sorry because the email resurfaced. This kid transferred from West Potomac after that email so Coach Henderson couldn't DESTROY him.
Isle D Belle
9:58 am on Monday, March 19, 2012
I really don't know much about this controversy, but the apology is not really an apology. It's more than a poor choice of words, it's a totally inappropriate comment. An educator who holds parents' comments or criticisms against their children is not a good educator. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and if a parent disagreed with the program, then the correct approach would have been to invite that parent in to find out what his particular concern was. It might have been valid and it might have been helpful. In any event, allowing the parent to express his opinion would have kept the matter between the adults.
It's pretty amazing that his level of vitiol exists between adults whose primary stated concern is their kids. Be the role models that you want your kids to follow and look at your own behavior, not that of others. You can't control other people, you can only control yourself. If you want your kids to grow up and do exactly what you are doing, then keep doing it.
Dusty
10:12 am on Thursday, March 22, 2012
Henderson is a louzy coach and a lousy person. He was ordered by Hardison to apologize to my son and others. Never did and Hardison never followed up.