Baylor discusses Indian River investigation with WMDT Sports

DAGSBORO, Del. – Indian River has had their sights set on their first football state title since 2011, but now the team has been caught up in an investigation after appearing in a local commercial on school property, and in full uniform.

The question David Baylor, DIAA executive director, wants answered is why and how did this happen.

“You want to be able to ask those questions; who, what, when, where, why, and how. How was it decided to do this, who was involved, who was consulted.”

In a reply to our questions Indian River tells us Athletic Director Todd Fuhrmann did reach out to local athletic directors for guidance when he was approached about the idea for the commercial, but Baylor says he could’ve saved a lot of headaches if the governing body of Delaware athletics was contacted.

“To my knowledge, no. I first learned about the commercial on Tuesday, September 24th,” said answered when asked if anyone at DIAA had been contacted before or during the production of the commercial.

If Baylor decides a violation occurred this case will go before the DIAA board of directors, whose next meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, October 10th.

He’s not ruling out having this investigation in that meeting, but admits it is unlikely. There is also the possibility of a special meeting, so the school is not left in limbo for the next month.

“Once we get all of the information together, we’re not going to sit on it, we’re going to try to move this as expeditiously as possible to give some resolution to Indian River,” Baylor said. “We give fairness to the school, to the athletic director, to the team, and the principal, as well as the DIAA board of directors, and all other schools to make sure we do this right.”

Baylor talked about his past experiences working with Indian River School District, telling WMDT he has found them to be professional, and desiring to do what’s best for the student athletes. He hopes the spotlight can soon return to where it belongs, on the field.

We reached out to Indian River for a comment and we received this official statement:

“We are aware of a complaint submitted to the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association and will cooperate fully with the compliance officer assigned to this case. Given that this is an active investigation, the Indian River School District has no further comment on this issue at this time.”