FOWLERVILLE, Mich. – A mother says her 14-year-old son walked away from the Fowlerville High School wrestling team because he was urinated on in the locker-room showers.
A month later, the district, reopening its investigation after Local 4’s own investigation, said “misconduct occurred” and “corrective and disciplinary action was warranted.”
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But the boy’s mother said she still has not received clear answers or accountability from school officials, and she said the accused student remains on the team and has continued competing.
The mother, who is choosing to remain anonymous, said the situation has been traumatic for her son to process, but that what has felt worse is the lack of clarity from the school and district about what happened and how it was handled.
“(A school official) said there would be more training for the athletic director and the coaches -- it’s more BS,” she told Local 4 on Friday.
“I’m frustrated to the point where I don’t even know what the next course of action would be.”
She said she might seek legal action or criminal charges.
The alleged hazing incident
“On the outside he’s very tough,” the woman told Local 4 last month. “He loves football, sports and video games. On the inside, he’s got a huge heart, like a big ole teddy bear. I almost feel like it took away a small part of his innocence.”
She said the alleged incident happened Jan. 2, 2026, about a month into the Fowlerville wrestling season. She said her son came to her crying and said he did not want to wrestle anymore.
“He got in the car and just blurted it out and said I don’t want to do wrestling anymore,” she said. “Because these two people were peeing on my face in the shower.”
In a report filed with Fowlerville police that she said she made for record purposes, her son described the scene after practice. According to the report, he “heard everyone was laughing, so he turned to see what it was about,” the report said, and he “stated that he did feel liquid hit him in the face.”
The report also said the boy told the officer that other people who were in the shower told him that “[redacted] just peed on him.” The boy also told the officer he did not want the other student to get in trouble.
Local 4 spoke to the mother again on Friday, and she said the investigation determined that someone had urinated on her son’s leg, not his face.
She said her son described the other student’s position in the shower area.
“He was standing washing his face and the offender was like above him,” she said.
After the initial shock, the mother said she contacted the wrestling coach, Dan Coon, that night and was told there “was going to be follow-up conversations and consequences for these young men.”
About three days later, she said, Coon contacted her again and said he needed to follow the “proper chain of command,” including notifying the athletic director.
The following day, the mother said, Athletic Director Jeff Finney spoke directly with her son at school and told him, “There was going to be some changes with the structure of wrestling practices and showers.”
The mother said she was told the other student would not be practicing or competing until the school finished investigating the alleged hazing incident. She said the accused student competed in a match the following weekend.
“I did not see changes. And they continued to wrestle,” she said. “Basically, blew smoke up my butt.”
The mother said Coon later checked on her son and encouraged him to stay with the team. Then, she said, she received a notification hours later that same day that Coon was no longer employed through the school.
“I got a notification on my phone that effective immediately the coach was no longer employed through the school -- that he had retired,” she said. “He didn’t retire. He quit.”
The former coach previously told Local 4 he was “walking away from Fowlerville wrestling” but “not walking away from wrestling completely,” and confirmed the hazing incident played into his decision to resign.
The mother said her son later left the team and hadn’t heard from the athletic director since. Local 4 first contacted Finney on Jan. 20, 2026, seeking comment. Finney said to “probably forward those concerns to the central office.”
The mother said she still does not know what steps, if any, the school took behind the scenes, and she still believes administrators minimized the complaint. She said she was told it was “warm water,” at first and said that explanation was repeated to her by others.
‘They’re trying to cover it up’
“I definitely feel like they’re trying to cover it up,” she told Local 4 in April. “Why my son? Have they done this before… and will they do it again?”
The boy’s mother said she believes the outcome has sent the wrong message because she said the accused student remained on the team and finished the season with accolades.
“He got to finish his season winning medals and awards as if nothing had happened,” she said. “If that was my son doing that to someone else I would’ve pulled him myself from the team and said you can’t continue.”
District reopens investigation
Fowlerville Community Schools said it reopened its investigation after Local 4’s reporting and said the evidence “did not substantiate hazing” as defined by Board Policy 5516 -- Student Hazing. However, the district said “misconduct occurred involving members of the varsity wrestling team and that corrective and disciplinary action was warranted.” The district also said reporting should have occurred sooner, communication should have been more formal and better documented, and expectations for supervision and reporting needed to be clearer. The district said it is strengthening safety, reporting, supervision, communication and program expectations across athletics and recreation programs, with some measures taking effect immediately and others in place for the start of the upcoming school year. You can read the full statement from the district below.
Here’s the full statement:
Gladiators,
Fowlerville Community Schools is committed to providing a quality educational experience for all students in a safe, orderly, healthy, and nurturing environment. With that commitment in mind, we believe it is important to communicate clearly when serious concerns arise, while respecting the legal limits on what can be shared publicly about students and personnel. Following a recent news report about an incident that occurred last January involving the high school wrestling program, along with additional information received at that time, the district reopened its investigation. That process was guided by the district’s law firm and included a review of the incident, the district’s response, and student-athlete expectations. As a result of that process, the district determined that misconduct occurred involving members of the high school varsity wrestling team and that corrective and disciplinary action was warranted. The district also determined that the evidence did not substantiate hazing as defined by Board Policy 5516 – Student Hazing. The review showed that aspects of the district’s response and oversight needed to be stronger. Reporting should have occurred sooner. Communication should have been more formal and better documented. Expectations for supervision and reporting also needed to be clearer. We take responsibility for those gaps and are addressing them through improvements. The district is strengthening student safety, reporting, supervision, communication, and program expectations across our athletic and recreation programs. These changes are being developed and implemented with oversight from the Board of Education and the Superintendent, with some measures taking effect immediately and additional measures in place for the start of the upcoming school year. Every student deserves to participate in programs that reflect a safe, orderly, healthy, and nurturing environment. This incident reinforces our responsibility to ensure these standards are consistently met across all student experiences.
Fowlerville Community Schools
More parents’ responses
Local 4 has received multiple emails and calls from parents and families who are not satisfied with the district’s response, either.
One parent said in part, “This school is a joke and could care less about doing the right thing.”
Another said in part, “The urinating in the shower isn’t the first time a Fowlerville wrestling team member has bullied someone and the school did nothing.”
When pressed for clarification and specifics about alleged accountability and process changes, once again, Local 4 was not given any specifics.
The district said it could not “discuss the matter any further than our previously issued statement because student matters are confidential.”