Principal on Administrative Leave Over Video of Controversial Dance with School Mascot

At least, that’s what the Atwater community seems to think after they saw video from a recent pep rally, leading to Buhach Colony High School principal Robert Nunes being put on administrative leave.

The video, which quickly went viral and you can see here, appears to show Nunes sitting in a chair on a gymnasium floor with students in the stands all around. As the mascot dances around him in the video, the principal throws off his sunglasses and pops a confetti cannon, all while Ginuwine’s “Pony” plays.

The duo then swap places with Nunes dancing in a similar fashion. And it’s those moves that didn’t sit well with the community, who likened them to a traditional lap dance one might receive in a strip club or at a bachelor/bachelorette party.

It is not clear if the person inside the mascot costume was an adult member of the faculty or school staff or a student.

That moment went down during Friday’s Back to School rally at the school. By Monday, Nunes’ administrative leave was in effect.

The video that led to all the trouble was recorded by a 14-year-old freshman. His caption for the clip caught his father Ryan Attebery’s attention, who told KTVU he was particularly startled by the “confetti moment.”

“What’s weird is weird,” he told KTVU. The father shared the video to his own Facebook page on Sunday, August 18, captioning it, “Am I a square or was this weird af for a principal to do.”

Nevertheless, Attebery said that some students from other schools have said Nunes is a good man. While this is his first year as principal at Buhach Colony, Nunes previously worked as an associate principal at other schools in the community, per People. Saying the kids “are sticking up for him,” Attebery said, “There’s something to that.”

“If he is what everyone says he is, I hope he gets his job back,” Attebery told the outlet, while admitting he was shocked Nunes was put on leave. At the same time, he does believe there should be accountability, adding, “If students did the same thing at school, they would be suspended.”

After the dance In the video, a voice can be heard saying, “What happens at Buhach, stays at Buhach.” According to the Merced Sun-Star’s reporting, that voice belonged to Nunes. It was in line with the rally’s purported Las Vegas theme.

Attebery told People that he shared the video so other parents could see what was going on at the school. “‘Hey, man, like, this is what your kids see. You guys have the right to see it,'” he told the outlet. “That’s all it was for me.”

“Everybody’s saying he is [a good guy]. He probably is, and it’s probably just a bad joke,” he went on. “They’re like, ‘Oh, the students, that was all the students idea.’ And I’m like, ‘I know, but the fact that there wasn’t a red flag, is a red flag in itself.'”

In response to the video going viral, the Merced Union High School District released a statement that they were investigating the matter, with Nunes sidelined until its conclusion.

“This decision comes as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all students and staff,” said Viviana Fuentes, the district’s director of communications.

On Wednesday, in the comments section on a post to his Facebook, Attebery wrote that he had been in touch with the school “privately on my behalf but more importantly on his behalf.”

“They know my intentions and what I’m willing to do to help him save his job. Assuming he’s the great man everyone says he is,” Attebery’s comment continued. “Parents feel how we feel about it being weird but despite how it looks I don’t believe 1 action should define a man. I think it was necessary to post but I do still feel bad.”