After teacher ‘dash for cash’ goes viral, Stampede boosts donation

This wasn’t how anyone who organized a weekend promotion for teachers at a Sioux Falls Stampede game planned the event to take off.

It was designed to distribute $5,000 to 10 randomly selected teachers, who competed to see how many dollar bills they could grab during the game.

That part went as planned.

However, in the hours after an Argus Leader Media video was posted on Twitter, it went viral, garnering more than 15 million views and mounting backlash.

The promotion subsequently made national news, with stories from the Daily Beast to CBS News and The Washington Post.

Critics called it everything from dystopian to dehumanizing.

State Sen. Reynold Nesiba told The Washington Post that while the competition was probably well-intentioned, it ended up being “a terrible image” and that “teachers should never have to go through something like this to be able to get the resources they need to meet the basic educational needs of our students.”

The Stampede partnered with CU Mortgage Direct for the promotion and released the following statement today:

“Although our intent was to provide a positive and fun experience for teachers, we can see how it appears to be degrading and insulting towards the participating teachers and the teaching profession as a whole. We deeply regret and apologize to all teachers for any embarrassment this may have caused.

“The promotion was intended to help raise funds for area teachers and their classrooms. The Stampede received 31 applications and 10 were randomly selected to participate. The 10 teachers participating received over a combined $5,000 and a minimum of $500 each. Each teacher was profiled and introduced prior to the event as we highlighted their school and what the funds would be used for.

“We take our role in the community seriously and work hard to support area nonprofit groups in a variety of ways. Through the incredible support of our fans and corporate partners, we are able to raise over $200,000 annually for local charities.

“Together with CU Mortgage Direct, we will be providing an additional $500 to those teachers that participated in the event as well as providing $500 to those additional 21 applicants that were not able to participate. In total, the Stampede and CU Mortgage Direct will contribute an additional $15,500 to area teachers.

“Moving forward, the Stampede and CU Mortgage Direct will continue to support our teachers and will work with the South Dakota Teachers Association on future events that will provide funding for our next generation. CU Mortgage Direct and the Stampede will have no further comment at this time.”

The Stampede was not the first hockey team to hold an event like this. The Sioux City Musketeers began holding their annual event in 2018.