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New Braunfels Radio Broadcast Team vs Suspended San Marcos Coaches


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Anyone heard about this? This post by one of the NB radio guys is making the rounds on social media:

"

I just wanted to take a few minutes to speak on what happened last Friday night at Rattler Stadium:

Some of you heard our broadcast in KGNB/KNBT as we explained that we had not been allowed to occupy the press box at Rattler Stadium. This was an active decision made by the athletics department at San Marcos ISD. 

Ben Campos and I arrived to the stadium 2 hours before kickoff as is our customary routine, as we got out of the elevator we were approached by a man with a clipboard saying we “weren’t on the list” and as such would not be allowed in the press box. Ben attempted to explain our role with KGNB and KNBT and how we are the official home broadcast for the Unicorn football team. He apologized and said it was “out of his hands.” He then said he would call “Coach” Vallejo who was in charge of the press box today. 

Mr. Lee Vallejo is the former coach and assistant athletic director who has been suspended by the UIL for two years from coaching and working with the football team for illegally recruiting and cheating. Though his twitter profile still claims that he is an active member of the San Marcos Rattlers coaching staff. Mr. Vallejo was apparently put in charge of hosting for the Area Round of the 6A UIL Playoffs since Coach John Walsh was out of town.

The coach in the box called Mr. Vallejo twice and was told two times by Mr. Vallejo that we were not “on the list” and therefore not allowed in the press box. We asked to speak with Mr. Vallejo personally, so he came up to the press box. When he came up we realized that this was not an accident or an oversight. This was clearly an intentional inconvenience perpetrated by Mr. Vallejo and Coach John Walsh. 

Coach John Walsh is the Athletic Director and Head Coach of the San Marcos Rattlers football team who was also suspended by the UIL for 5 games and San Marcos is suspended for the 2023 playoffs as well. After speaking with some members of the New Braunfels athletic department it is clear that Coach Walsh and Mr. Vallejo place some blame on New Braunfels for this decision. 

When Mr. Vallejo came up to the press box he again pointed to his list and said we weren’t on it. This is important because it is clear that Coach Walsh and Mr. Vallejo are going to hide behind the UIL guidelines that require the incoming teams to “get permission” from the host stadium’s staff for people in the press box. That “permission” has been universally granted to the home radio broadcasts for as long as radio broadcasts have existed. New Braunfels played Westlake in 2021 at Rattler Stadium and no issue presented itself. As Ben and I tried to be cordial and diplomatic Mr. Vallejo again pointed to the list, said it was “out of his hands.” At that point we offered to get our credentials verified by KGNB/KNBT, Coach Streety, or even anybody that we had previously worked with at San Marcos High School. Mr. Vallejo informed us that this would be a waste of time, because “that wouldn’t put (us) on the list” and ultimately told us that if we were upset that we were not allowed in the press box to “talk to (our) boy Streety.” At that point, any uncertainty as to whether this was an attack against New Braunfels was settled. We then were forced out of the press box and made the decision to call our spotter/statistician Austin Milam and let him know that, on what turned out to be the last game of the 2022 season, he should not make the trip to San Marcos due to poor accommodations.

Coach Jim Streety is the Athletic Director for New Braunfels ISD and apparently someone that Mr. Vallejo has a personal vendetta against. 

I did talk to “my boy” Coach Jim Streety who reached out to Coach John Walsh on our behalf in an attempt to “let him do the right thing.” Coach Walsh again shirked away from any responsibility regarding his program and asked Coach Streety if we were “on the list.”

We were later informed by another member of the media that he was told by San Marcos staff that “New Braunfels is not allowed upstairs.” 

Luckily for us, if the late Ron Friesenhahn taught us anything it was not to let a minor inconvenience get in the way of doing your part to serve your community. So Ben and I figured it out. We were prepared for a 75-degree press box with the proper accommodations for a radio call. Instead, we took our thousands of dollars’ worth of radio broadcast equipment across the stadium and called the game from the away bleachers in 40-degree weather, 15 mph wind, with intermittent rain, from a cell phone. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the generosity of the Westlake broadcast crew who provided us with a 50-foot extension cord, though we were unable to utilize it, due to lack of outlets anywhere near the bleachers. Throughout our broadcast, Ben and I monitored the availability and occupancy of what would have been our booth on the home side. It was empty, dark, and available for the entirety of the game.

A member of KGNB, reached out to Coach Walsh on twitter to ask why we were not allowed to broadcast the game from the press box and he feigned ignorance despite clear evidence to the contrary. 

Mr. Lee Vallejo being any kind of spokesman or representative for SMISD is an indictment on the entire district, yet the San Marcos athletic department decided to entrust Mr. Vallejo with hosting responsibilities. Instead of being the type of host regularly employed by the UIL and San Marcos ISD, Mr. Vallejo tried to hinder our ability to share these kids’ accomplishments with our community. Something like this should never happen. The responsibility for this behavior falls onto Coach John Walsh who either greenlighted these decisions or has lost control over his staff and his program. That is not for me to decide. 

Fortunately, thanks to Ben’s stubbornness and the abilities of the KGNB/KNBT crew, we had a good broadcast. It was a loss to Westlake, but a good broadcast. 

I have thought a lot about why this made me so disappointed and frustrated. I believe it’s because at some point the athletic department at San Marcos has lost their way and has forgotten that this game is for the kids, it’s not about cheating to win, or holding petty grudges, it’s a chance to showcase our youth and help our communities to shine brighter. Ben Campos and the rest of the staff at KGNB/KNBT work tirelessly to bring a broadcast that can make our city proud, that highlights our community, and that brings our kids to the forefront on Friday Nights. Ben wakes up most mornings at 4 AM, with two kids and a demanding job outside the sphere of youth sports, just to give him extra time to edit and prepare for these broadcasts. The decisions made at San Marcos became an attempt to make these efforts fruitless.

I have made a commitment, along with Ben Campos and countless others, to help provide a service for these student-athletes and their families. We will do what is necessary to make sure that our community continues to shine bright, and come across your radios clear, under the Friday Night Lights."

Some guy named Arredondo (SM Super?) defended the actions of his coaches by insinuating that it was to protect students from a possible mass shooting. 

So I don't know exactly what happened here. I'm going to guess it was probably a case of "I thought you called?"-"I thought YOU  called."  This is Texas high school football. There are 1400+ programs that play at least ten games a season, and no telling how much "red tape"-type paperwork has to be done for every game every season, and I'm sure on occasion someone forgets to dot an "i" or cross a "t" or check a box. 

So yeah, somebody whiffed and forgot to make sure these guys were "on the list." They're a freaking radio broadcast team. For a playoff football game. In Texas. You can't tell me that not seeing  team's radio broadcast team on the pressbox list wouldn't raise eyebrows. You expect them to be there. There are fans who pay for NFHS then watch their team's games with the volume down and listen to their local broadcast team call the game. These guys - these grown adult men who someone  actually considered leaders worth their taxpayers' money - were so petty and immature they refused every opportunity to engage in PROFESSIONAL COURTESY AND SPORTSMANSHIP to try to keep NB fans who couldn't get to the game from being able to hear their boys play. Kudos to these guys for not giving up. And shame on the San Marcos athletic administration. 

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Curious if the back story was New Braunfels turned San Marcos for recruiting violations. If so, why did NB agree to the neutral field site? Not knowing the stadium, was there room in the stadium’s press box. The game was telecast by an Austin television station (not NFHS or Texans). Were there two broadcast booths and it was first come first reserved and the NB crew “assumed” they had space? If there was space, yes it was petty by San Marcos ISD. I have no doubt San Marcos officials knew the NB broadcast team as they are in the same district and the communities are approximately 15 miles from each other.

Edited by bordertown
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Not classy by the San Marcos staff. But I am sure the backstory has to do with the recruiting. On a side note NB isn't exactly a great environment to play in either. I remember my son's team played NB the past couple of years in football and basketball and told me about the racial epithets that were said by NB's players and things being yelled in the stands. Won't say what was said but you can infer. Either way the opposing team, spectators, and reporters should have been accommodated. 

Edited by Coach1990
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<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fannehalsey%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02NcTVvPAZRH1BNF2o9pVJ6mz6oEWPQs9n397VcmJm5TpUNzeF13zhdPo7T5QECGMJl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="775" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>

Apparently this is the San Marcos version of events. Looks like there is some evidence of NB reporters being misleading. Have to copy paste the link.

Edited by Coach1990
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On 11/23/2022 at 12:49 PM, Coach1990 said:

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fannehalsey%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02NcTVvPAZRH1BNF2o9pVJ6mz6oEWPQs9n397VcmJm5TpUNzeF13zhdPo7T5QECGMJl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="775" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>

Apparently this is the San Marcos version of events. Looks like there is some evidence of NB reporters being misleading. Have to copy paste the link.

Yeah, looks like a case of "He said-He said", but if Strong spoke to Steel and got it straightened out, that's between them, and kudos.

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