A California high school principal who was placed on leave after a video of him dancing inappropriately with the school’s mascot went viral has now learned of his fate.
Buhach Colony High School’s Robert Nunes was initially suspended after video showed him gliding on an office chair in the school’s gym as their Viking mascot sauntered toward him during a back-to-school rally in at Atwater, California.
After being suspended for the stunt last month, he decided to resign last week.
However, after his resignation, the District decided that Nunes will still be allowed at the school but will be demoted to ‘associate principal’.
The scandal began after the video saw Nunes twerking to the soundtrack of Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’.
Nunes could then be seen using a confetti gun to simulate something inappropriate while aiming at the mascot, before trading places with it – all in front of hundreds of students cheering him on.
Nunes then gyrates, dances down the mascot’s chest and placing his hands on it, before someone can be heard asking him if he has any words.
‘What happens at Buhach stays at Buhach,’ Nunes could be heard yelling, echoing the infamous slogan of people who visit Las Vegas.
The crowd went wild as students rushed onto the basketball court and surrounded the principal as they celebrated him.
But Nunes participation in the stunt brought unwanted attention to the school and the Districe with media attention leading many to question his suitability in a leadership role at the school.
The District, in particular, appeared to take a very dim view of Nunes’ behavior, despite the dance with the mascot being coordinated with the approval of students.
‘This decision comes as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all students and staff,’ the Merced Union High School District said in a statement on Thursday. ‘Corrective action has been taken with all staff involved.’
Torrin Johnson had been serving as Interim Principal while Nunes was on administrative leave, and will continue in the role until further notice.
The school district intends to hire a new permanent principal to fill the position in the spring.
Over the last few weeks, the clip circulated across local and national news, eventually reaching the popular LibsofTikTok account on social media.
Ryan Attebery, a parent of two students at the school who sent in the video, said he was most disturbed by the fact that the children were defending Nunes.
‘Could be a good dude. I don’t know him, but I hear a lot of students sticking up for him,’ Attebery told ABC30.
‘They say like, ‘Oh, he’s trying to be funny,’ But like, if that’s you trying to be funny, just don’t be funny. Or he was trying to be cool with the kids, but that isn’t cool,’ he added.
An anonymous parent defended Nunes, saying: ‘I do believe that the kids liked the pep rally. They thought it was fun I understand what they’re doing but I think they’re putting too much on him’.
However, parents like Atteberry find the stunt bizarre.
‘What’s weird is weird to me,’ Atteberry told Your Central Valley. ‘At the end of the day, I would feel super guilty if five years from now something came out and I could have said something.’
He says that the students were the ones who were in charge of the stunt.
‘They said the students put it together, but the fact that there were no red flags probably is a red flag,’ he said.
The principal describes himself on social media as ‘El Capitan AP Student Support, Dad, Papa to 4 + 2,000, People will not remember what you said for very long, they will remember how you made them feel forever.’
‘I do not think that it’s right how much of like that he’s under such a huge investigation,’ one anonymous parent added at the time of the rally.
‘I do believe that the kids liked the pep rally. They thought it was fun. I understand what they’re doing but I think they’re putting too much on him.’
‘The lap dance and confetti pop are extremely inappropriate behavior around kids from a principal and especially in a school. Principals are to be held to a higher standard. Schools should be a safe place,’ posted another on social media.
‘My kids have seen worse in movies or the internet but this behavior should not be seen in schools.’