Superintendent on Being Shoved by Student’s Father: 'I Didn’t Know Whether He Had a Weapon'

The Wisconsin superintendent shoved by a student’s parent during a graduation ceremony is publicly addressing the viral incident, saying in a recent interview that "an unfair narrative" of the community is being painted.

In an interview with NBC News, his first since the controversial incident, Baraboo School District Superintendent Rainey Briggs recalled the immediate safety concerns he had when Matthew Eddy physically confronted him. Briggs emphasized that, regardless of any alleged issues Eddy had with him, there was "no reason" to resort to such behavior.

"I didn’t know whether he had a weapon, knife, gun, whatever," Briggs said, per Janelle Griffith. "That was going to cause possible harm to me, let alone everyone else that was in the vicinity of that space."

As previously reported, public reaction to the footage of Eddy pushing Superintendent Briggs during a graduation ceremony was swift and intense. Many condemned the stage rush as an instance of racism, although Briggs himself hasn't explicitly stated this. According to a separate article by TIME, Briggs is uncertain about the underlying cause, despite Eddy telling police they had "past issues."

"Matthew Eddy is the only person that can truly say what his motivations were," Briggs said, per Chantelle Lee. "I don’t want to speak for Matthew Eddy."

Briggs and other school leaders had a previous "encounter" with Eddy regarding his daughter, who is a student at the school. Although other officials were present on stage during the graduation ceremony, the footage shows that Eddy specifically targeted Briggs in his disruptive act, which was met with boos from the audience.

The incident resulted in a temporary restraining order against Eddy and a disorderly conduct summons.