CINCINNATI – The Ohio State University (OSU) Board of Trustees have decided not to reinstate the school’s former marching band director, who was fired last month for allegedly failing to deal with a “sexualized” culture surrounding the band.
The university released Jonathan Waters from his position on July 24 following a two-month investigation by the Office of University Compliance and Integrity.
The investigation revealed a band culture of rituals that included students marching in their underwear, playing groping games on buses and tagging sexually explicit nicknames on members. The probe also uncovered that Waters knew about all of this, but failed to stop it.
Waters, who led the band since 2012, had asked the board for a chance to return to his job because he believed there were flaws in the investigation that led to his termination. In fact, he claims that he received a positive performance review just weeks before he was fired, Huffington Post reports.
However, the OSU board stands by the university’s investigation.
Waters is currently considering litigation challenging the investigation and is still focused on getting his job back.