FOOTAGE of a high school principal giving and receiving a lap dance to the school’s mascot has gone viral and enraged parents.
The Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, California, held a back-to-school pep rally last Friday.
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However, just three days into the new school year, principal Robert Nunes found himself at the center of a social media storm as parents accused him of being inappropriate at the event.
Parent Ryan Attebery who has a son and two daughters at the school shared footage from the rally on Facebook which has since gone viral.
“Am I a square or was this weird af for a principal to do?” Attebery wrote in the caption.
The accompanying video saw the school’s mascot Thor take off the principal’s hat and twerk in front of him as students cheered.
Nunes was slouching in an office chair appearing to enjoy the dance before setting off a gold confetti canon from the side of his hip.
The teacher then switched places with the mascot, pretending to push him down into the chair before crouching down to dance.
As students cheered, Nunes grabbed a microphone and shouted: “What happens in Buchah stays in Buchah” which received wild cheers from the crowd of students, some of which had gathered around the principal and the mascot.
“Hey these are your kids this is what they’re seeing, you guys get to see it too,” Attebery told ABC News affiliate KFSN.
“He might be [good] but weird is weird.
“They said like ‘oh he’s tryna be funny’ but like [if] that’s just tryna be funny just don’t be funny.
“Or he was trying to be cool with the kids but that ain’t cool.”
The rally allegedly had a Las Vegas theme, according to Attebery and other parents on Facebook.
The video received mixed responses from parents with students at the school with many being disgusted by the behavior before others came out in Nunes’ defense.
“This is disturbing. Very suggestive,” one Facebook user commented on Attebery’s post.
I don’t think it’s appropriate at all! My daughter is a freshman here and I heard all about it. Not cool,” a furious parent wrote.
“I would be livid if my daughter told me about this! It’s gross!” a third added.
What happens in Buchah stays in Buchah!
Robert Nunes
However, others spoke of the principal’s character as a “widely respected and loved” man in the community, claiming that the situation has been blown out of proportion.
“Teachers love him, students love him and co-workers love him. Stop making it out like he had bad intentions,” one Facebook user wrote.
“This principal has been amazing, and cleaning some of the stuff up,” another said of Nunes.
“I have two kids that attend school here, and I’m not offended by it.
“It’s been blown WAY up. As a parent, I’m p****d…but that they are doing this to a good person.”
A third agreed saying it has been “blown out of proportion” before calling out the behavior of cheerleaders at other schools during halftime shows.
“I have heard that morale has been so much better with students and staff since he came. It is a shame that all people see is a short video and do not have the whole story,” they added.
In response to some of the reactions, Attebery posted an update on Facebook saying that his initial post was to allow members of the community to “make their own judgement.”
“To the parents who seen this and are happy it was made public. This was for you. To anyone else. Your opinion is your opinion and you may be right. Time will tell and I hope you are. for student’s sake,” he added.
The Merced Union High School District is “conducting a comprehensive review of the situation,” it told KFSN in a statement.
“While the investigation is ongoing, Mr Nunes will not be participating in any school-related responsibilities or activities.”
This is Nunes’ first year as principal at the school but he has previously worked as an educator in the school district for decades.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Nunes and the Merced Union School District for comment.
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