Prior Lake Brad Knudson
Brad Knudson had enough of bullying, so he took to YouTube on Monday to call out those who have been bullying his daughter.
In the video, published on Monday (Jan. 19), Knudson appears on camera and talks about two high school freshmen from Prior Lake who he says bullied his daughter on Snapchat in December.
Knudson describes the incident: “my beautiful African American daughter being bullied via Snapchat and the unbelievable response from the father.” He says he adopted his daughter 11 years ago.
“It’s very emotional,” the father of five said in the video.
His multiracial family is used to heads turning but nothing like what happened over New Years. Knudson said his daughter received Snapchat videos laced with racism from two high schoolers. Knudson said he tried to contact the boy’s father but received harassing phone calls from the parent instead.
Frustrated, Knudson took to YouTube to share his story. His wife, Wendy Knudson, said after seeing so many young people who were bullied take their own lives they had to stand up.
“I love my daughter and I don’t want her to end up committing suicide because of freaking morons,” Brad Knudson said in the video.
The video been shared widely on social media. Tuesday night the video had just 1,000 views. By Wednesday, it had more than 56,000 views. Even school leaders took notice.
Prior Lake, Minnesota: Dad Goes On YouTube And Calls Out Daughter’s Snapchat Bullies
The YouTube comments range from strong support for Knudson to name-calling and criticism of his decision to “call out” the bullies by name on social media.
On YouTube user wrote:
It is such a shame to hear a beautiful young lady be treated this way. Those kinds are not only ignorant but an honest disgrace. Racism isn’t funny, it’s hurtful. There is nothing wrong with someone who has a different pigment to their skin than yours so grow up and accept those around you because at the end of the day we are all HUMAN and deserve to be treated as such.
Another user offered this opinion:
I can’t believe all the bleeding-heart liberals on this page. First of all, this guy adopts a black girl when he lives in a neighborhood that’s predominantly white. Can you say duh ? Even a 2010 census confirms that Prior Lake, Minnesota is 91% White and only 1.5% Black.
Following the outpouring of support, Bradley posted this on his Youtube video:
I would like to thank everyone for their support. I just found out our daughter did not take this issue as seriously as Wendy and I. The n word is something I was taught at a very young age was not appropriate. You hear nowadays a lot of songs by People of all color use this word. You also see videos that they use this word. I have never liked it I’ve always thought it was inappropriate that they used it. I have now found out that my daughter during the WCCO interview decide…d to use Snapchat and send people videos of her thinking that this was a game and it was funny and she actually uses the N-word twice. Regardless of your skin color I and my wife do not tolerate this word our daughter is going to be reprimanded in an appropriate manner. I am extremely saddened and disappointed because of this video she has discredited the message that we wanted to convey. I hope that this does not stop our efforts to highlight the issues that still remain regarding bully and the effects it has on children. It is still truly an epidemic and social media has allowed us to bully individuals 24 hours a day seven days a week no matter where that person lives. Wendy and I are still dedicated to highlighting this issue and help educate our young people on the effects of bullying and how to deal with bullying. Again I want to thank everyone for their support getting this message out.
Prior Lake Assistant Superintendent Jeff Holmberg said they’ve reached out to both families and are investigating the incident.
Prior Lake’s Brad Knudson is making headlines for defending his daughter from bullying.
“We don’t tolerate that so we are going to very specific about it and diligent about our efforts to understand the situation,” Holmberg said.
The father of those bullies lost his job just two days after the video was posted.
Deron Puro was an independent contractor, and his employer confirmed to Fox 9 on Wednesday that he is no longer associated with that company as of Jan. 21.
I watched the video yesterday and it sadden me to see a father on the other end of a phone talk to another father who was hurting his child had been treated with such ignorance… So thankful his family is getting the support from this community my daughter attends.. I could only imagine I would have shared such a video!!!!
I applaud the dad who stood up for his child in an adult way and did not back down. The dad of the bullies has a long record ( mom too) of facing life in a way that suits and benefits them. I hope there is counseling available not only for the girl who was bullied and that the young people who bullied her will be conscious of the damage their upbringing has done to others and themselves. Maybe they will not know until later in life.
That so called father of the twins sounds like a drunken ignorant individual. God does not like UGLY, so don’t worry. The Lord will take care of him and his lack of parenting twins. Pray for them!!
Before you get to carried away seeing this man as a hero please know that the Knudson have also been contacted by the police this school year for harassing minor children, creating social media accounts to bully 16 year old boys, and enabling their son to bully a 16 yr girl and post very nasty and hurtful comments on twitter. This posting by him is extremely hypocritical considering the families actions earlier this school year.
I don’t care.
The only problem I see is that the names of the Children are now public, they will now be victims of bullying for something they had force fed into them by their parents. I think re-education of these kids would be beneficial, while public embarrassment is detrimental. This is all on the parents of these ignorant children and should be treated as such.
Good for you for posting this. It’s sad to see we live in a society full of these ignorant, selfish morons. That father Daren or whatever his name is should be embarrassed on a while new level. He just showed the world his big of a loser he is. I wish I could use more hurtful words to describe him but it’s not worth sinking down to his level.
Good for dad, the girl’s friend, the school, the bully’s employer, and all the folks who helped to shine a light on ugly, cowardly behavior. In a case like this, public embarrassment is the only way those kids are going to see the real consequences of their actions. People can forgive the dumb things kids do if they have consequences and then turn it around. But if they get away with it and are still doing it a couple of years from now, they better be prepared to have their lives really destroyed, as their dad did.
The girl’s dad acted like a real man does. He stood up for what is right and protected his daughter.
This story, like many that have come before, is heartbreaking. The issue is real, and permeates throughout our neighborhoods, schools and the workplace. I am so proud of this father, who took a stand for his child. The core of the problem (hate) begins at home – what the children are taught – how they view the world and people. Mr. Puro needed to be shut down in a big way – it will send a message to his children and others, that this kind of behavior is not to be tolerated. Ironically, if you look at Mr. Puro, and the texture of his hair, it is obvious that he is not pure caucasian. Perhaps a DNA test will set him straight once and for all.
Part II
It seems that Mr. Bradley feels it necessary to apologize for his daughter’s reaction to this situation. I assure him, that he did the right thing in defending her. Children will laugh off offenses that are directed toward them, in the hopes of being accepted. Your daughter must learn that she is not deserving of this kind of treatment – whether coming from a white or black person. The language between black people is deeply rooted in self-deprecation taught many years ago. There is a huge difference between hateful, disparaging remarks with intent to wound, and child’s play. The true intent was made even more clear when the father took the lead in the onslaught. Mr. Bradley had good parents – Mr. Puro did not. That much is clear. Keep your head up, Bradley family. There are many of us proud of you today.
It seems that Mr. Knudson feels it necessary to apologize for his daughter’s reaction to this situation. I assure him, that he did the right thing in defending her. Children will laugh off offenses that are directed toward them, in the hopes of being accepted. Your daughter must learn that she is not deserving of this kind of treatment – whether coming from a white or black person. The language between black people is deeply rooted in self-deprecation taught many years ago. There is a huge difference between hateful, disparaging remarks with intent to wound, and child’s play. The true intent was made even more clear when the father took the lead in the onslaught. Mr. Knudson had good parents – Mr. Puro did not. That much is clear. Keep your head up, Bradley family. There are many of us proud of you today.