Editor’s note: The following opinion column was submitted for publication by Marian Oost-Lievense.

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People keep writing and saying they know the family at “the center” of the soccer coach controversy. 

With respect, the family at the center of this is my family. I am Russ’s mom, and I have watched in horror as he has had his name dragged through the mud because of vicious lies, and then been treated with complete unfairness and contempt by the school administrators and a majority of the Board of Education. 

I am so proud that he has chosen to stand up to the injustices he’s suffered at the hands of this school system — a school system he attended as a student and continues to love despite how it’s treating him today, despite the effect on him personally and professionally, and the impact on his ability to make a living. 

Russ’s appeal before the BOE wasn’t about the student; it was all about his mistreatment by the school administrators, who conducted a ridiculously incomplete and inappropriate “investigation” (as was proven at the 14-hour hearing), made the non-renewal decision based on numerous false assumptions (as was proven at the hearing), and unfairly treated Russ completely differently than other coaches similarly situated (as would have been proven at the hearing, if the board’s attorney hadn’t improperly excluded that evidence).

There are real human beings on all sides of this issue. The Board of Education gave this student the opportunity to speak publicly and make serious (and false) accusations against my son and another coach, yet anyone who now speaks up for Russ and the other falsely accused coach is being unfairly labeled as part of a “lynch mob” or accused of bullying.

You can believe both that the student and Russ were failed by this district. Those are not mutually exclusive truths. This was mishandled from the start by school administrators who continue to fall short of their responsibilities.

Speaking out for the truth is not bullying. 

There are hundreds of students at the heart of what is being mishandled by this district, not one. 

I share all of this so people can hear the truth about what actually happened, as was laid out in detail during Monday’s hearing. This is not an attack on a student or his family, and correcting false public narratives should not be mistaken for attacking a kid.

This is about holding administrators accountable — for their failure to do their jobs, and their ongoing unwillingness to make it right.

I love my son. I am extremely proud of him. And I, along with many others, will keep fighting for justice and accountability.