Days after a San Jose school board member apologized for singing a song with references to a gun at an elementary school winter concert, he sang it again—this time in a video he posted to social media.
Brian Wheatley, who has served on the San Jose Unified School District school board since 2019 and is currently vice president, apologized for his behavior at the Reed Elementary School winter concert early December and assured the school’s principal, Jennifer Ponzio, that his “lapse in judgment” would not happen again. Ponzio had told families in an emailed apology that Wheatley requested to sing the unplanned song, and she intervened after 30 seconds and stopped him.
“In an effort to bring levity and humor, I shared verses that were inappropriate, and I’m truly sorry for any disruption or distress this may have caused students, staff or families,” Wheatley wrote to Ponzio. “Moving forward, I will be more deliberate and thoughtful in every school setting to ensure my actions reflect our shared commitment to student safety and well-being.”
Then, Wheatley, whose term expires next December, posted a video of himself singing the song again on his Facebook and YouTube pages.
“Posting this silly Rudolph spoof because I’ve been in the news lately,” Wheatley wrote on social media. “I ask forgiveness from those hurt by my actions. I showed a lapse in judgment by inserting myself into what should’ve been a joyous sing-along and sharing this particular song given the current political reality. Rest assured, I’ve learned from the experience and will officially retire Randolph.”
In the video, Wheatley sings a parody version of the popular holiday song, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” called “Randolph the Bow-Legged Cowboy.”
“Randolph the Bow-Legged Cowboy had a very shiny gun,” Wheatley sang. “And if you ever saw it, you would turn around and run.”
“All of the other cowboys used to laugh and call him names,” he continued. “They never let poor Randolph play in any poker games.”
The song dates back to the 1940s and is likely a reference to the classic Western film star Randolph Scott. The song has several versions, some titled “Randolph the Shiny Gunned Cowboy,” “Randolph the Six Gunned Cowboy” and “Randolph the Two Gunned Cowboy.”
Some versions are more extreme, with lyrics that include, “Randolph the bow-legged cowboy had a very shiny gun and if you ever saw it, you would drop your pants and run” and “then one foggy Saturday night the Sheriff came to say, Randolph with your gun so bright, won’t you shoot my wife tonight?”
Wheatley said Thursday he chose to post the video of himself singing the song after the incident because he only sang the first verse at Reed — referring to Randolph having a shiny gun — and was worried families thought he had intended to sing one of the more explicit versions.
“I found out after the fact there’s a horribly misogynistic line some people know in the second verse,” Wheatley said, seemingly referring to the verse that references shooting the narrator’s wife. “I was afraid people assumed I would share such a thing with students.”
Wheatley said he’s been teaching kids for over 40 years, and his version sang, “then one foggy Saturday night the sheriff came to say, Randolph with your gun so bright, won’t you guide my posse tonight?”
Wheatley said he feels horrible that he caused hurt in the community and hopes people will understand his intent was to share “what in my view is a silly song about a cowboy.” He said he doesn’t plan to address the incident at tonight’s board meeting, the first since the incident made headlines, unless he feels the need to respond to public comments.
San Jose Unified School District board president, Jose Magaña, Alum Rock Union Elementary School Board vice president, Andres Quintero and Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee, Jorge Pacheco Jr. “liked” the video on Wheatley’s Facebook page.
“One mistake, especially when you took responsibility for it, is a minor blip on an otherwise stellar career,” former San Jose Vice Mayor Rose Herrera commented. “I wish other nameless public officials would own up to their much worse violations.”
The incident comes amid questions about school safety in the San Jose Unified School District in recent years.
A 2024 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report found inconsistent campus lockdown and safety protocols and gaps in school safety planning for emergencies, which the jury found caused unnecessary risks to school safety. The school board rejected nearly all of the civil grand jury’s findings — which expressed concerns over an unusually high rate of leadership turnover, a lack of student wellness centers and an overall lack of transparency — but acknowledged that the district had further work to do on safety planning and emergency responsibilities.
San Jose Unified voted in 2021 to remove police officers from its campuses, but later reversed course and allowed each campus to hire San Jose Police Department officers, however they see fit, as part of their school safety plan.
The district’s first school board meeting of the year is scheduled for tonight at 6:00 p.m. at 855 Lenzen Avenue.
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