Former coach's disparaging posts prompt Colonial Beach to rename stadium

Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA)

Jun. 19--As Wayne Kennedy's emotions began to simmer down, the former Colonial Beach politician, teacher, coach and administrator realized the damage he'd done.

Kennedy disparaged blacks and the LGBTQ community in a series of Facebook posts last week relating to debates about politics and racial injustice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. That led more than 400 people to sign an online petition calling for Kennedy's name to be removed from Colonial Beach High School's football stadium--C. Wayne Kennedy Field--which sits on a site known as Monroe Park.

Kennedy, who moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C., more than a year ago, said he felt he no longer deserved the honor and didn't want the field targeted for protests. So he called Colonial Beach Superintendent Dashan Turner and requested his name be taken off the stadium.

Turner and the School Board obliged as the board voted unanimously to take down the sign on the scoreboard and the back of the home bleachers that read C. Wayne Kennedy Field. The signs were removed on Wednesday.

Turner and School Board chairwoman Michelle Payne did not return calls and an e-mail seeking comment Thursday.

"The Colonial Beach Public School board members acted quickly to remove Wayne Kennedy's name from Monroe Park," the school system posted to its Facebook page. "The removal of Mr. Kennedy's name from Monroe Park was due to the derogatory and racial comments he posted on social media."

Kennedy, 75, served on Town Council in Colonial Beach and he was also the town's mayor and vice mayor. He had stints as a physical education teacher and assistant principal at Colonial Beach High.

He coached the Drifters in basketball, football, track and field and served as the athletic director for 39 years before he retired in 2008.

When Kennedy retired, one of his former black players, Selven "Duck" Watts, said he was like a father figure, driving Watts to Fredericksburg for American Legion baseball games three days a week when he was in high school.

However, another of Kennedy's former students told him in a recent Facebook debate that he no longer talks like the coach many were once fond of. After Kennedy and the Colonial Beach native continued to verbally spar last week, the onetime mentor referred to his former pupil as "Buckwheat"--the black character on "The Little Rascals" television series played by William Thomas.

"In our black community, Buckwheat, to us, it's racial," said John Parker, who spent much of his youth in Colonial Beach and grew up admiring Kennedy. "Some people might think it's not, but to me it is."

Kennedy didn't stop there.

He called a black woman who disagreed with him on a political issue a "Dale City Dog." When one of his friends asked the woman if she was watching the old movie "Gone With the Wind," Kennedy responded she was building a statue of Aunt Jemima, the black character who has appeared on pancake and syrup products since 1889. Quaker Oats announced this week that it would no longer use the Aunt Jemima name or image.

Kennedy also responded to a post about President Trump's administration erasing transgender civil rights protections in health care by telling the woman who posted the article, "Now you and your queers have a good day, now, you hear?"

That comment and others startled Parker, whose twin brother Johnathan is a former coach and current teacher at Colonial Beach High.

"I was like, nah, that can't happen," Parker said. "That can't go like that. That's when I said I'm not going to pay a nickel or dime to go on that football field as long as his name is on there."

Kennedy also used Facebook to share a link to a story about a black sheriff saying if black lives mattered they'd protest at abortion clinics and reiterated that stance in later posts.

He said the Black Lives Matter movement "is the most divisive, corrupt and racist thing in existence." He also stated that black on black crime may cause the black race to become extinct without the police. He said "White Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, Thugs Lives Do Not Matter."

Kennedy, who was also a fixture on the Fredericksburg area sports memorabilia scene, is now apologetic. On Thursday, he said he's not a racist or bigot and he has friends from six different nationalities.

He described himself as a born-again Christian and "old-school conservative," but added he's been "deeply depressed" lately as he's battled health issues.

Kennedy said he supports police reform and he hopes Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with second-degree murder in Floyd's killing, gets the maximum punishment. He said political differences and a disdain for rioting and looting to protest racial injustice caused him to become upset.

He said this incident stemmed from a "weak moment," where he allowed Satan to infiltrate his heart and mind.

"I had, in my estimation, a moral meltdown," Kennedy said. "I love all people and I think if somebody would check the 1,500 or so students or athletes that I've been involved with, most of them, if not all, would have that sentiment. ... I offer my apology to anybody that was offended. All I can do is ask for their forgiveness. But even more importantly, I pray that division will not invade Colonial Beach."

Former Drifters basketball and baseball coach Steve Swope and others are trying to ease any racial strife Kennedy's posts caused in the small town. Swope is helping to organize a rally in support of Black Lives Matter on either June 24 or June 27.

Swope said Colonial Beach is typically a place where different cultures get along. He said watching his former coach and mentor argue with other Colonial Beach alumni "really tore a hole in my stomach."

"You're playing Russian Roulette when you get on social media and Wayne was actually playing Russian Roulette," Swope said. "It just happened that one of the chambers fired when it came around to him. I can't express my sadness enough that this has taken place."

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