A Jay Leno teacher skit nearly cost a California high school teacher his job.
The Tonight Show skit featured Steve Endemano, a teacher at a Christian school in Southern California. He was picked for a segment that dramatized an audience member’s life, and after a brief interview with Leno a trailer started for a fake movie called Get Some Balls: The Steve Endemano Story .
The 64-year-old Endemano was shown as a cycling enthusiast who dreams of turning pro, and doing it without the help of steroids. In the fake movie Endemano expressed disappointed at cyclist Lance Armstrong for taking performance-enhancing drugs, and later started training to become a pro cyclist himself.
Endemano eventually ended up in a locker room with a fellow competitor who accuses him of using steroids. To prove he is clean, Endemano drops his towel to show that he was not suffering the side effects of steroids.
“They’re huge,” a student says after Endemano dropped his towel.
“And they’re coming for you,” Endemano replied.
When footage of the Jay Leno teacher skit made its way to Endemano’s school, the high school teacher found himself suspended. This caused an uproar among students, who wanted Endemano brought back.
‘I think he should come back to school, because we miss him as a teacher, and he’s great to have on campus,’ a student told KTLA .
Some even started a Facebook page to support the popular teacher.
After a few days, the school’s administrators responded.
“We realize that Mr. Endemano’s appearance on the Jay Leno Show created quite an uproar with both the people who had no negative reaction to it and those who believe it was not a positive reflection of our standards at WCHS,” wrote Carl Martinez, head of school at the high school. “Issues and situations like these are rarely black and white. At WCHS, we are committed to making wise decisions in a prayerful and thoughtful manner.”
After meetings between school administrators and board members, they decided that the Jay Leno teacher skit would not cost Steve Endemano his job. On Friday they announced that he was reinstated.
