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MADISON — A sheriff's lieutenant has been fired for using his position and official reports to try to weaken a high school football team before it played his son's squad in a state playoff game.
Lt. Shawn Haney, a 21-year veteran of the Dane County Sheriff's Office, was fired for releasing reports describing a Sept. 30 underage drinking party attended by Waunakee High School football players. Several people face charges in connection with the party.
His son is a lineman for rival DeForest High School.
Sheriff David Mahoney said he fired Haney for releasing the reports prematurely and having a conflict of interest.
Two weeks before the state quarterfinals game on Nov. 3 in which DeForest defeated Waunakee, Haney gave documents to the Waunakee School District detailing the party on a farm where a teacher's aide lived.
Then, days before the game, Haney called a top official at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Association to complain the district hadn't disciplined athletes at the party and urge action, according to his dismissal letter.
"The fact that your son plays on a rival team, which could stand to benefit from any sanctions imposed on the Waunakee football team as the two teams progressed through the playoffs, should have caused you to remove yourself from the situation immediately," Mahoney wrote.
Haney is appealing his firing, claiming he did nothing wrong.
"Honest to God, everybody has to step back and take a deep breath," said Haney's lawyer, Lester Pines. "We're talking about high school football here. I mean, really, come on. This seems so small-town to me."
The teacher's aide and her husband were charged with obstructing police. Three others, including a football player, were charged with disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon.
Waunakee Superintendent Charles Pursell said players were disciplined but not until after the Nov. 3 quarterfinal game because the investigation wasn't complete.
DeForest defeated Waunakee 27-13 but later lost the state championship game.
Pines said the reports could be released to the district under state law during the investigation. And he said Haney was acting as a parent when he complained to the WIAA.
Pines said he would ask for Haney's job back.
"It's not like he was trying to influence the election of the governor," the lawyer said. "We're talking about two little tiny school districts. ... But this is Wisconsin. We do take our football kind of seriously."
