CYA or “Cover Your Administration”? Newark’s Board of Education and the “Nuttin’ Butt Azz” Basketball Tournament

Graphic created by Zoe Van Gelder. Yellow and green are West Side High School's colors. (Zoe Van Gelder for Public Square Amplified)

This was published as part of the 2024 community journalism class sponsored by New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.

Newark NJ –  It’s June 14, the jump ball is thrown, and Big Fendi, former Nicki Minaj manager and now author, takes it running. A promotional video for a community basketball tournament dubbed “Nuttin’ Butt Azz’” is circulated on Facebook. Big Fendi and Shaleena Washington, a player for the sports-entertainment circuit “Buns ‘n’ Basketball,” announce that a celebrity basketball tournament will be held on July 21. 

Within this promotional video, Sexy Redd’s music plays in the background, the costume design consists of thongs and sports bras, the choreography is comprised mainly of twerking, the theme is outright sexual, tickets are announced ranging from $50 to $500, and the setting is the West Side High School gymnasium. 

“This will be like a real NBA tournament, it’s really the NBA ‘Nuttin’ Butt Azz’ tournament,” says Big Fendi in the video. “You know, I wanted to clean it up, there’s gonna be real nice women, we’re not doing no Ugly Duglies.” 

West Side High School’s  mission statement is “to embody Relationships, Innovation, and Passion.” The mission statement says, “When relationships are built, it creates a collaborative network of people who foster a safe, nurturing, and positive community to achieve common goals.” 

The content of the video filmed within the West Side gym and the lack of accountability to follow would seem contradictory to this mission. It would violate the rules that students must follow: indecent exposure is a Level 2 infraction at West Side High. And despite some claiming to have taken accountability for the video’s filming, no one seems to have done anything more than label their wrongdoings. 

On Thursday, August 22, the Newark Board of Education (BOE) was supposed to meet publicly to discuss the findings of their investigation into how the video could be filmed within school grounds. Although the investigation has been considered complete as of October 1 by BOE Superintendent Roger León, this conclusion is late, it was released to a different meeting than initially intended, and its details are unknown to the public. 

Superintendent León shared these results at a City Council Education Oversight Committee meeting, instead of the Regular Board of Education Meeting for which it was originally intended. The Education Oversight Committee is not listed under the BOE's directory or the City Council’s directory for meetings. Although the office of Anibal Ramos Jr. confirmed that he heads this committee currently, it has no mention on either the councilman’s directory of staff page or his own profile.

All regular Newark BOE meetings are uploaded to Facebook and are easily accessible to the public. Superintendent León nor his office have affirmed the results of the investigation because they involved personnel matters. Under New Jersey OPRA laws, “personnel matters” are exempt from being considered public information. 

Who is (and is not) taking accountability

Rather than apologizing directly on his account (@bigfendiitv on Instagram), on June 17, three days after the leak of the promotional video, Big Fendi appears in an apology video posted by four other accounts collaboratively. The accounts include West Side High’s Principal Akbar Cook, the CEO of New Direction Shadee Dukes, President of New Direction Khalil Tutt, and New Direction’s business Instagram account. Shadee Dukes authored the post, and the others are listed as collaborators. 

“Most importantly I want to apologize to Principal Cook, and Councilman Dupré Kelly … the content of this video you knew nothing about. We were doing this event and, you know, things went a little left and out of control and I take full responsibility for that, because you guys had no knowledge of what these girls would be wearing in this celebrity game. Whoever was affected by this video, I want to apologize to the parents, to the students… my deepest apologies, hopefully this helps,” said Fendi in the video, sitting on what appears to be a throne. 

Although Big Fendi issued apologies to Principal Cook and Councilman Kelly, Councilman Kelly was not included as a collaborator on the post, despite his active presence on Instagram (@doitalldu on Instagram). Despite attempts to reach out to CEO Dukes, Councilman Kelly, and Principal Cook’s office, all have been unresponsive.

Therefore, Public Square Amplified reporters have had to rely mainly on sparse comments given to select news organizations. This information, along with the Newark BOE’s policy on renting space, indicate that Fendi’s claim that Principal Cook and Councilman Kelly were blindsighted in the matter may not be as true as he portrays it. 

In a statement given to NJ.com, the Newark Public Schools spokeswoman Nancy Deering blamed Councilman Kelly for sponsoring the event. When Public Square Amplified reporters attempted to contact spokeswoman Deering, her office staff first told them that she was on vacation. Despite subsequent attempts to contact her, they never received a comment.

Councilman Kelly was also unresponsive to attempts by Public Square Amplified reporters to reach out. 

New Direction and its founders are the only third parties that are explicitly linked to the “Nuttin’ Butt Azz” tournament, based on their collaboration in posting Fendi’s apology video, although they have no mention within the video itself. The only other collaborator on the apology video was Principal Cook. 

New Direction is a High-Risk Intervention (HRI) organization that was founded in 2022 by Shadee Dukes and Khalil Tutt, whose accounts also linked to the collaborative post. It was created with the goal of providing conflict resolution, mediation, and overall outreach for the community. 

New Direction is the only community-based organization to address themselves as part of the fiasco. New Direction’s founder, Dukes, authored the caption of Fendi’s apology video, and expressed a need to clear the air and take accountability. According to his caption, there was a miscommunication that the wrong people took the heat for. 

Screenshot obtained from Facilitron's website after simulating the process of renting West Side High School's gym for the intended date of the event, July 21st. (Ishani Bakshi for Public Square Amplified)

The Newark BOE’s website describes the process of renting school spaces as having transitioned to being a primarily digital process. After attempts to contact the Superintendent’s office, the BOE’s Communications office, and the number for the Office of Facilities Management, there is no confirmation as to whether or not the process is intended to be fully digital. 

Based on the given protocol, anyone renting out the facilities would have to provide the exact location of the event within the school, the event’s purpose, its theme, names of celebrities present (if applicable), and the estimated number of attendees and participants. According to the BOE’s Use of NPS Facilities – Policy 1330, “the request must be submitted by the requestor or third party to the Principal of the building for which use is being requested at least twenty (20) business days before the start of the activity.”

Once the event was approved, the applicants would receive a permit and instructions for payment from the Newark Board of Education’s Office of Facilities Management. If denied, they would receive a notification at least two weeks before the event. Regardless, the school principal would have a full understanding of the proposed event, members, and themes according to protocol.

If such protocol had been followed at West Side High, Cook would have known about the nature of “Nuttin’ But Azz” and would have had to approve it. The Office of Facilities Management would have had to approve it as well. If protocol was followed, this situation may be either a case of extreme negligence, or a case of severe misjudgement.

Is it really accountability?

Although multiple parties have said that they are taking accountability for the video and its production, no one has faced any tangible repercussions, publicly at least. 

None of the parties involved have suffered much reputational damage for the incident. Since this has happened, Shadee Dukes has been invited to the White House in recognition of his organization, Principal Cook and Councilman Kelly have carried on business as usual, and the Newark Board of Education has hardly addressed the findings of an investigation of which they have shown the public little proof has happened. 

No investigation results have identified anyone as having approved the event, and no one has faced any public repercussions for the video’s production on school grounds. No one has been identified as the lead investigator of the entire incident, so it is unknown whether a private investigator was hired or not. The office staff of Councilman Ramos Jr. could not answer as to whether or not the Education Oversight Committee kept meeting minutes or recordings of the meeting, let alone where these minutes or recordings may be accessed. 

Some of the parties involved have deflected the blame unto others. Other parties have claimed to take accountability, but accountability is not the same as labeling one’s wrongdoings. The individuals named either remain in their positions, or have seen career growth; in reality, no one has taken responsibility. 

Schools like West Side High School, funded by working tax paying families, are community spaces meant to provide safety and support for students as they cross from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. For the parties involved to enable, allow, and approve a video with a very clear sexual nature to it within school grounds stands in opposition to the values of West Side High School and all public schools.  

Whether this promotional video was permitted or slipped through the cracks, the outcome is the same. Yet, rather than making an effort to amend the situation, the parties involved disrespect the families of Newark further in empty claims of accountability and attempts to sweep the situation under the rug.

Failing to hold those who are responsible accountable is a failure to protect the children of working families. It is a failure to demonstrate what true accountability and integrity look like. It is a missed opportunity to show rising adults how to hold one another to a standard of doing and being better.