Guest update - Rachel Bennett. Fresno High School graduate, former aquatic athlete, and current advocate in this matter.

I am always hesitant to claim systemic racism in situations, because I want to believe most people are not deliberately racist or cruel; however, the evidence in this particular situation is too overwhelming to ignore. After the petition update - The Power Of Eyesight - FUSD’s Optics Regarding, I couldn’t resist digging a bit deeper into the key players mentioned. 

The only thriving aquatic program in FUSD is at Bullard High School. They have both high participation numbers and year round club opportunities. Parents, alumni, community members, and their board representatives protect their valuable program because they understand the value it has for their children. It does not escape my notice that Bullard is predominantly caucasian while Fresno High School is not, which means that unfortunately, FHS does not have this protection. In particular, the elected board member Andy Levine, has made that clear with his inaction. He is not alone though, below are the key players in this:

• Andy Levine, FHS board member - (caucasian) This program was handed to FUSD with no strings attached and Coach Lopez paid the district in facility fee’s to do it.
• Kim Mecum - (caucasian)
• Natalie Clark, FAMM President - (caucasian) She has been sued in the past for a civil rights violation and has been cited for unethical money management when she ran for the FUSD board over a decade ago. The patterns of injustice run deep and it’s clear she has no issue hurting others for her gain. Her need to publicize the FAMM donation further demonstrates the need to ensure this “good deed” was public knowledge.
• Annika Knutson, FAMM coach and FHS girls Coach - (caucasian) Has a past of trying to gain control of the FHS pool. This began when she was a coach for the junior high water polo team. Her attempt failed and she was not asked to come back as a coach for the junior high team.
• FAMM demographic - (predominantly caucasian)
• Linda Laettner, Former FHS principal - (caucasian) Patterns of unethical behavior and poor decisions at the detriment of her students. These poor decisions impacted her students' mental and physical health. Her facebook profile image really explains a lot.
• Bob Nelson, FUSD Superintendent - (caucasian) This article sums up several of the major issues within FUSD that are perpetuated by him. 
• John Vinuela, FHS teacher and aquatics coach - (Spanish) His patterns of poor work ethic, harassment, and politics stem throughout his FUSD tenure.
• Coach Lopez, former FHS coach - (caucasian) Patterns of student avocation and actions to protect those children. She has been very vocal about these issues and has even given several public interviews regarding this very important subject. She has been bullied and harassed for sticking to the facts about the issue’s surrounding aquatics. Something I am sure rubbed the above the wrong way. It has been eye opening to see how difficult it is for a white person to make the obvious change. Imagining the hate people of color most likely endure when they speak up is devastating.
• Coach Birkle, former FHS coach - (caucasian) Patterns of student avocation and actions to protect those children. Again and harassed for sticking to the facts about the issue’s surrounding aquatics. Something I am sure rubbed the above the wrong way.

Essentially, all of the key players are caucasian and they absolutely do not represent the demographic of the children they represent. I truly question if these key players are blatantly racist or just plain ignorant to the systemic issues around aquatics and people of color.