MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Thursday afternoon, Milwaukee Public Schools confirmed that both Bay View and Pulaski High Schools will proceed with their final football games of the season.
However, despite a win, neither team will be able to go to the playoffs because of a clerical error made by district leaders.
Today, we learned this isn’t the first time athletes have been sidelined by missing paperwork.
“I made sure we had a phenomenal program. This is a far cry from a phenomenal program. This is one of the worst things I have seen,” Jan Doleschal said.
Doleschal is the former MPS athletics commissioner.
Watch: Former commissioner reacts to athletes forced to forfeit due to missing paperwork
She said after seeing two teams forced to forfeit wins, she had to speak out. She talked exclusively with TMJ4’s Jenna Rae.
“Why was it important for you to sit down with me, Jan,” Rae asked.
“It’s important to me because I worked for the students. I worked to put together the best program I could,” Doleschal responded.
For nearly three decades, Doleschal was the face of MPS athletics.
“I started the girls program in 1974, two years after Title IX. I then took over the complete boys interscholastic athletic, plus the girls. I ran a top notch program,” Doleschal explained. “I wrote all the manuals. There was an athletic procedure manual, there was a coaches procedure manual, there was a parent athlete handbook.”
Doleschal retired in the early 2000’s, and since then, has been inducted into four athletic Hall of Fames, worked on nearly every committee of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), and is an attorney specializing in sports law.
The former commissioner reacted when it comes to Bay View and Pulaski High Schools being forced to forfeit wins because MPS leaders failed to submit paperwork.
“This should not be happening,” Doleschal said.
“From your experience, what should’ve been done in this situation and was it really that easy,” Rae asked her.
“Yes. To answer your question in one word, yes it’s that easy. That’s the job of the commissioner, and that the interscholastic athletic office files all the forms necessary, [so] that the Milwaukee Public Schools will have the best program possible. This is not rocket science,” Doleschal explained.
“Who dropped the ball,” Rae asked.
“Bobbie Kelsey,” she responded.
“Why,” Rae asked.
“You’ll have to ask her that,” Doleschal said.
Bobbie Kelsey is the current MPS athletics commissioner.
Doleschal and parents TMJ4 talked to said this isn’t the first time the athletics department has dropped the ball.
“There was a situation with the MSL (Milwaukee School of Languages) girls basketball team last year. There was a situation prior to that with the boys swim team at Riverside, so just counting those two, who did not and could not attend their state tournaments,” Doleschal added.
Rufus King parent, Luke Laga, said he was there when the Riverside swim team couldn’t compete. His son swims for King.
“The Riverside team showed up to sectionals to like cheer on the other kids, and they couldn’t participate because something sat on her [Bobbie Kelsey’s] desk from WIAA unsigned,” Laga said.
Parents and the former commissioner said when it’s all said and done, kids are suffering and enduring the consequences of adults who are not doing their jobs.
“MPS needs to make a decision here. They need to really, really take a good look at this and decide what kind of interscholastic athletic program they want to run,” Doleschal said.
We tried to talk to Commissioner Kelsey on Wednesday, but an MPS spokesperson said since this situation is under investigation, we had to talk with her superior.
Thursday, we asked if Kelsey was being placed on administrative leave because of the investigation. MPS sent us the following statement:
“The district cannot comment on personnel issues. There won’t be an availability for an interview.”
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