‘Get away from me’: Dad’s shock move at daughter’s graduation
A father has been slammed online after storming the stage at his daughter’s high school graduation ceremony.
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A father has sparked outrage online after he stormed the stage at his daughter’s high school graduation ceremony to stop her from shaking hands with a superintendent.
In viral footage shared online, Matthew Eddy, 49, can be seen interrupting the ceremony at Baraboo High School, in Wisconsin, last week, leaving his daughter mortified on stage as shocked students and staff watched on.
The footage shows the student walking to the stage to receive her diploma as she shook hands with several school district officials.
However moments before reaching Superintendent Rainey Briggs, Mr Eddy is seen rushing up the stairs to the stage and pushing him aside.
“That’s my daughter,” Mr Eddy can be heard saying in the video.
“You better get up off me man. Get away from me bro,” Superintendent Briggs replied.
Mr Eddy was reportedly later heard saying: “I don’t want her touching him.”
His daughter appeared stunned before she paused briefly and made her way off stage.
A number of other staff members were seen rushing to the stage.
The motivation behind Mr Eddy’s action has not been confirmed.
Many slammed the 49-year-old’s “disgraceful” behaviour online, accusing him of “ruining” his daughter’s achievement.
“The poor kid you could see the happiness just drain from her face,” one person wrote on X.
“How horrible for both the Superintendent and the girl,” another wrote.
“You can see the embarrassment in her face. He took HER moment and made it about him,” said another.
A school resource officer and two off-duty officers were present at the time of the incident, a School District of Baraboo spokesperson Hailey Wagner told TIME.
Mr Eddy was issued a criminal citation for disorderly conduct and the charge was referred to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office.
Superintendent Briggs has filed a restraining order against Mr Eddy, Ms Wagner told the publication.
In a statement, the School District of Baraboo School Board condemned the father’s behaviour but did not explicitly name Mr Eddy.
“What we do not condone is engaging in threatening, intimidating, or physically harming behaviours against anyone in our School District community,” the statement reads.
“No employee of the School District of Baraboo should fear for their physical safety when fulfilling their job duties or at any other time.”
“That this adult felt emboldened to behave in this way in front of hundreds of students and other adults should deeply trouble us all; this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. The School District of Baraboo Board of Education condemns such actions and asks the community to take a stand and speak out against this type of behaviour that threatens the fabric of our democracy.”
It’s not the first time the US school has made headlines.
In 2018, a photo was shared online showing a number of students posing for the camera while appearing to make a Nazi salute.
Originally published as ‘Get away from me’: Dad’s shock move at daughter’s graduation
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