ARLINGTON, Texas – Parents of students at The Oakridge School in Arlington woke up Monday to find their school in the national spotlight.
An administrator admitted to sending an expletive-filled Twitter message to Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels and one of Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers, according to an email to parents from the school.
Butch Groves, head of the upper school at The Oakridge School, has since been suspended indefinitely.
Avenatti screen-grabbed, then posted the message on his Twitter account, saying “Meet Butch Groves, the head of upper school at Oak Ridge Arlington. I have never met him before or communicated with him, but this was his message to me earlier tonight.
Groves’ message said, “You are an expletive, you lying piece of expletive.”
According to Avenatti, Groves sent it around the same time Avenatti announced he was representing one of Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers.
“I have no idea why he would send such a vile message to me out of the blue unless he was upset that I’m representing a sexual assault victim,” said Avenatti in an interview over the phone.
Some parents were upset that it could cast a negative light on the private, college prep school where their students have seen success.
Michelle Rector, however, said Groves was one of the reasons she decided to take her son out of Oakridge.
“I wasn’t surprised. That’s just his demeanor,” said Michelle Rector. “To me, he’s a grouch, he’s mean. He likes to pick on people.”
Groves’ Twitter page was taken down.
“I don’t care if it’s during work hours or after work hours, this is not the type of person that we should have teaching or instructing our kids,” said Avenatti.
Avenatti said he had not received an apology or inquiry from the school.
WFAA reached out to Groves, but he did not respond to our request for comment.
The school’s full statement to parents is below:
"It was brought to my attention this morning that Butch Groves, Head of Upper School, sent an inappropriate private message to attorney Michael Avenatti from his personal social media account. I have been in contact with Mr. Groves who has admitted to the communication; he deeply regrets his comments and the negative attention brought to the school.
That said, The Oakridge School has clear policies in place regarding online and face-to-face communications. Oakridge employees are expected to maintain the respect, dignity and professionalism that is consistent with our mission. Mr. Groves' conduct was unacceptable and inconsistent with these policies and standards. I have therefore suspended Mr. Groves indefinitely as we conclude our investigation."