Duluth School District Concludes Investigation Into On-Ice Violence During East-Denfeld Hockey Game

Attacked player Cooper McClure's father Jason says the district has yet to reach out to his son or his family about the incident.

DULUTH, Minn. – Thursday night, FOX 21 revealed shocking footage from late in Wednesday night’s game between the Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld boys hockey teams. It shows Greyhounds defenseman Grady Downs attacking Hunters forward Cooper McClure with repeated blows to the head.

Duluth superintendent John Magas sat down exclusively with FOX 21 and he says he was notified of the incident the following day and assumed it would be handled internally. However, after seeing the video late Thursday afternoon, he realized the intense nature of the situation.

“I felt like it was very concerning and unfortunate for a wide variety of reasons, both for all the players involved, for the spectators. It was concerning due to the high level of action between the players and the harm caused to one individual player,” Magas said.

This comes after a similar incident last Wednesday in Superior that saw a player from Duluth East leave the bench to get involved in a fight in front of the Greyhounds net. Magas says he was made aware of that situation in conjunction with Wednesday’s incident. As for the district’s investigation, it has concluded. However, the findings will not be released due to privacy laws in the state of Minnesota. And despite the team being involved in two incidents within one week, Magas says there are no plans to investigate the Greyhounds program as a whole.

“I haven’t seen this type of situation, so at this point it seems to be an isolated situation. But it’s good for us to always keep an eye on such things,” said Magas.

The incident overshadowed an otherwise great rivalry game that celebrated Military Appreciation Night, as well as showcasing the local youth hockey teams.

“To put it bluntly, it was disappointing. The Heritage Center, if you walk into that building, there’s eight character values out there. We instill that into our kids. And those kids watching the game look up to the high school players. And I don’t know if they liked what they saw on Wednesday night,” said Bob Nygaard, the executive director of the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association.

Despite the well-known tension between the rival schools, both Magas and Nygaard agree that there is no room for that kind of violence on the ice.

“It’s a respect. It’s a respect for your opponent. It’s a respect for the game. And you try to teach that and understand too that sometimes things can get a little intense. That’s where we teach that restraint and that discipline,” Nygaard said.

“I think it is important though as a district to think about how can we always come together. We are two separate high schools, but really when we think about our multiple high schools in the district, how are we also coming together as a community? How are we coming together as a school district in support of all of our students?” said Magas.

Duluth school board chair Jill Lofald released this statement to FOX 21:

“The Duluth School Board is aware of the incident of violence at the Duluth East and Denfeld hockey game this past Wednesday night. As board members and parents we do not condone any violence within our schools or in sports or activities. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated and we thank the referees for their job and swift action on the ice. It is important that we as a board and community reflect on what occurred and how we can improve.”

Friday evening, FOX 21’s Sam Ali spoke with Jason McClure, the father of attacked player Cooper McClure. He tells us that his son was diagnosed with a concussion and although he is currently in good spirits, he will be going through the concussion protocol and try to get back on the ice soon. He also adds that no one from the school district has contacted Cooper or anyone in the McClure family about the incident on Wednesday. McClure says he is very disappointed that no one even checked on the condition of his son. He also told me that he has heard about the punishment Grady Downs received and the family is not happy with that decision. McClure, who is a police officer in Duluth, says the police are currently not involved, but his family is currently discussing what steps they will take moving forward.