An Inland Empire high school water polo player’s mother is calling on two school board members to resign after accusing them of “sexualizing” members of the boys water polo team who were photographed wearing Speedos at a school baseball game.
The controversy began in late April, when members of the Temecula Valley High School water polo team attended a baseball game between swim meets.
While cheering on their classmates, the boys, who had painted the letters B-E-A-R-S on their chests, dropped their pants to reveal school-colored brown and yellow swimwear.
A photo of the moment was posted on the baseball team’s Instagram account with the caption “Our fans > better than yours. GO BEARS,” The Press-Enterprise reported.
The post caught the attention of Temecula Valley Unified School District Board President Dr. Joseph Komrosky and board member Jennifer Wiersma, both part of the board’s conservative majority elected in late 2022.
“Speaking of dress code…are our teams now an ‘OnlyFans’ crew? Hats off to the kids that kept their pants on,” Wiersma wrote in an Instagram story that reposted the image, though with black covering the boys’ swimsuits.
Wiersma later apologized, saying that she hadn’t understood the circumstances of the swimsuit display.
Komrosky took to his own Instagram account, writing that if the water polo players wanted to support the baseball team, they should do so while looking like professionals.
“My concern is that I do not want them to look like they’re in a sexually provocative strip tease, looking like they’re one step close to the Chippendales,” he wrote. “We don’t need that in our school district, in our community.”
While some comments on his post agreed with the sentiment, Instagram user Stephanie Berry pushed back, writing, “If this is the jump, you shouldn’t be around kids. As a parent, it looks like swim boys being silly and supporting friends. I’ll pray for your deviant minds,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sharon Sardina, whose 17-year-old son was in the photo, said she was furious when she learned about the school board members’ comments. She and her husband, Brian Sardina, are now calling for the two board members to resign.
“It’s flat out sexual harassment no matter how you look at it,” Brian told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “What if those were females? This would be a totally different subject as well.”
Sharon said that if a teacher was to talk about a student in the way the board members did, they would be placed on a leave of absence until everything was investigated.
“I think sexualizing these minors is wrong in so many ways,” she told KTLA.
At a May 12 school board meeting, Sharon submitted a public comment calling for the resignations of Wiersma and Komrosky. She urged board members to recognize the seriousness of their remarks and said the incident underscored why many parents in the district feel they cannot trust the board’s leadership.
“For the last two weeks, I have watched son carry the weight of comments made by adults,” she told board members.
In a statement to KTLA about the incident, Komrosky said:
“A few young men from our TVHS Water Polo team were supporting their fellow baseball team and posed in a picture on a parent-sponsored page associated with TVHS. I thought it was inappropriate and that their attire didn’t align with the district’s dress code administrative regulation. As a result, the site admin spoke with the students, removed the post, and reminded them of our current dress code. That said, in showing their team spirit to other students, I’m sure these are amazing kids and that they didn’t intend to cause harm with this post. In the end, I would encourage them to “dress for success,” as they will be our future leaders when they leave TVUSD.”
Wiersma also provided KTLA with a statement, saying:
“I support the administration’s decision to remove the photo in question and stand behind our ongoing efforts to ensure all district-affiliated social media platforms remain aligned with TVUSD’s established policies and community standards.”
