B.C. high school teacher disciplined for playing British Bulldog with students

The floor of a school gymnasium is seen in this stock image. (Credit: Shutterstock)

A high school gym teacher from B.C. has been disciplined for making “inappropriate physical contact with students” while playing a game called British Bulldog, according to the provincial regulator.

Michael Rhodes, who taught in the Pacific Rim district on Vancouver Island, entered into a consent resolution agreement with B.C.’s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation earlier this month, admitting the misconduct and agreeing to a four-day suspension.

Between 2014 and 2019, Rhodes played a version of the tackling game with students, according to the agreement, which offers a description of what would happen.

“In this game, a couple participants are ‘tacklers,’ while the rest of the participants are ‘bulldogs,’ who have to try to crawl on hands and knees across wrestling mats to the other side,” reads the document, which was published online Tuesday.

“The purpose of the game is for the tacklers to try to ‘flip’ the bulldogs onto their backs on the floor, while the bulldogs try to evade the tackler and avoid being flipped.”

Rhodes himself played an active role, according to the agreement.

“Rhodes usually started the game as the tackler. Rhodes often flipped students, including female students. He flipped students either to their side or back, sometimes being face to face with the student in very close proximity or being overtop of the student,” it reads.

Students were given participation marks for the activity, and felt pressured to play despite their discomfort, according to the document.

Two specific incidents were noted in the agreement – both involving female students who were upset over Rhodes’ role in the game. In one, the student shouted “don’t touch me” before leaving class. In the second, the student left class after “Rhodes came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her stomach area and, holding her back against his torso and her buttocks against his lower abdomen, lifted the student into the air for a couple seconds, then set her down.”

The district took action against Rhodes in 2023, suspending him for 15 days and transferring him to a teacher-on-call role for three years. He was also required to complete a course on respectful boundaries and “prohibited” from teaching Phys ed, although he was still allowed to coach – with conditions limiting his physical contact with students.

The commissioner ordered its investigation in 2023. In June of that year, Rhodes “gave an undertaking not to teach in the K-12 education system in British Columbia.” He was “released” from the undertaking in December of 2023, the agreement said.

Rhodes is required to give the commissioner 30 days’ notice if he “he intends to teach in the K-12 education system in any capacity” and will serve the four-day suspension if and when he resumes teaching. He will also have to complete a course, according to the agreement.

After outlining the penalty, the commissioner summarized the misconduct.

“Rhodes required students to participate in a game with him in physical education which involved close physical contact. He did this despite being aware that some students were uncomfortable with the game because of the physical contact,” the agreement said.

“Rhodes' physical contact with students in the game and his physically picking up a student were an abuse of his position of power and trust.”