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Ohio State band director received positive review

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2013 file photo, Ohio State University marching band director Jonathan Waters leads the band in "Carmen Ohio" following a NCAA football game against San Diego State at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State officials say there is no recent record of campus police attending an annual ritual where marching band members entered Ohio Stadium in their underwear. The Midnight Ramps were cited in an investigation into the band's "sexualized culture" that resulted in Waters’ July 24 firing. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Adam Cairns, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2013 file photo, Ohio State University marching band director Jonathan Waters leads the band in "Carmen Ohio" following a NCAA football game against San Diego State at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State officials say there is no recent record of campus police attending an annual ritual where marching band members entered Ohio Stadium in their underwear. The Midnight Ramps were cited in an investigation into the band's "sexualized culture" that resulted in Waters’ July 24 firing. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Adam Cairns, File) FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2013 file photo, Ohio State University marching band director Jonathan Waters leads the band in "Carmen Ohio" following a NCAA football game against San Diego State at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State officials say there is no recent record of campus police attending an annual ritual where marching band members entered Ohio Stadium in their underwear. The Midnight Ramps were cited in an investigation into the band's "sexualized culture" that resulted in Waters’ July 24 firing. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Adam Cairns, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio State University’s fired marching band director was lauded for “courageous” efforts to address attitudes surrounding the band’s traditions seven weeks before he was fired.

Jonathan Waters was dismissed July 24 after a university report found he had failed put an end to the band’s “sexualized culture,” including a tradition of midnight underwear marches.

The school on Wednesday released a performance review signed June 2 in which Waters was praised for “tackling some of the more extreme views head-on.”

The evaluation period ended in March, before the university began its investigation but was signed about a week after the probe began.

Also Wednesday, school President Michael Drake said he sees virtually no chance Waters will be reinstated. He deflected follow-up inquiries regarding criticism that’s arisen regarding the report.