The father who rushed to the graduation stage to stop a superintendent from shaking his daughter's hand has broken his silence.
On May 31, Matthew Eddy barged onto the stage at Baraboo High School’s graduation to stop his daughter from interacting with Superintendent Rainey Briggs.
The outraged man grabbed Briggs by his arm, dragging him away from his daughter and reportedly saying: “That’s my daughter,” per The Independent. “You better get up off me man,” Briggs responded as the two went off-camera.
The shocking clip went viral on social media and led to many community members condemning Eddy, and even saying that the act was racially motivated.
Watch the moment below:Baraboo School District spokesperson Hailey Wagner addressed the incident to WiscNews, revealing that they referred a disorderly conduct charge for Eddy to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office.
“We would like to emphasize that the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community members is a top priority,” Wagner added in a statement.
The Baraboo School Board also added, “No employee of the School District of Baraboo should fear for their physical safety when fulfilling their job duties or at any other time."
“That this adult felt emboldened to behave in this way in front of hundreds of students and other adults should deeply trouble us all; this type of behavior will not be tolerated," they concluded.
Eddy spoke about the confrontation in a police interview that has emerged online this week, alleging that the superintendent initiated the physical contact - a claim that the video of the graduation disproves.
“I didn’t touch him until he touched me,” he told Baraboo Police Officer Brandon Meyer, per local outlet WISN 12. “I did not want him to be able to shake her f***ing hand because he does not deserve it from her,” Eddy continued.
Watch the father's police interview below:When cops said that they were not aware of any allegations that the superintendent had targeted the man's daughter, he explained he was angry about how she was treated by the school district.
Eddy said his daughter had to meet with school officials regarding expulsion, and claimed that Briggs “rolled his eyes” when he spoke to him about his daughter.
Police officials noted in a report that they believe the push was “pre-planned” and that the father was remorseful for the incident, but only because of the impact it had on his daughter.
Despite blaming all school officials for his daughter's school treatment, Eddy, who is white, only targeted the one black administrator among several on the stage, leading many to believe that race was a factor.
But Briggs told Daily Mail that he does not know whether the father's actions were "racially motivated" explaining: “The optics don’t look good...the optics are what people around the world have gotten to see.
"And it’s caused them to formulate in their minds what was behind this situation,” he continued. “But ultimately, Mr. Eddy is the only one that could tell you whether it was racial or not."
In addition to this, the superintendent, who has filed a restraining order against the man, disclosed that he only heard from the father's attorney.
He has also expressed his support to the 250 graduating students, including Eddy's daughter, saying: “This is a moment in time for them that they’ll never get back the way they had hoped for this to go."
