As a former coach at WHS, I am shocked at this act of violence. I wish Coach Parker and his family well. I hope the local police can step up to the plate and punish the guilty. HE IS A GOOD COACH AND FAMILY MAN. I am shocked.
God Bless,
Nick Chaykowsky
Head Coach Boys Basketball
Alexander High School
Douglasville, GA
Here is a copy of the article.
Times Free Press
Whitwell incident sickening
Stephen Hargis
The best part of covering high school sports is that it is competition in its purest form.
Most of the athletes will never play at the college level, and prep coaches certainly aren’t in it for the money. Even most of the parents just want to lend a hand to make sure their kids enjoy the brief time spent playing. And for that, I love getting to tell the stories about the positive side of sports.
But one thing I’ve learned in 14 years of covering area preps is not to be surprised by anything. Sports is a microcosm of society, so you have to learn to deal with the mischievous, the cheaters and the morally reprehensible, so there are times when I would rather not have to share a story.
One such case happened last weekend. Whether it was the product of disgruntled parents or frustrated fans or simply a random act of vandalism, it immediately left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Several weeks ago, a small group of parents lobbied to have Danny Parker removed as the girls’ basketball coach at Whitwell High School. The accusation was that Parker, who has coached for 35 years — including the last 14 at Whitwell — had thrown a clipboard and basketballs at some players during a practice.
School principal Sydney Durham interviewed every player, as well as assistant coach Madeline Ware, and they each said no such incident happened. Durham dropped the matter.
Parker has been Whitwell’s athletic director the last four years and has also coached boys’ basketball, golf and softball.
After last Friday’s game, Parker and his wife Connie spent the weekend at their second home in Fentress County. When Parker returned to his house in Whitwell, he found the side of his 1995 Ford Ranger was black from an apparent arson attempt.
According to Parker, diesel fuel had been poured around the side of the truck and around the gas tank, but the flame never made it to the tank, which would have caused an explosion.
"The whole area around the gas tank is burned, and the gas cap was completely melted," Whitwell police chief Ronnie Davis said. "Whoever it was came close to blowing the truck up, and it’s a wonder they didn’t blow themselves up trying."
Parker couldn’t be sure, of course, that the incident was related to the complaints about his coaching, but he has not returned to the school. He made the immediate decision to gather some mementos and other things from the Whitwell house and go back to Fentress County.
"I decided right then that it wasn’t safe for us to stay there," said Parker, who has not officially retired but said he is considering it. "I pride myself in being somebody who doesn’t quit, but when you find that somebody has tried to burn your truck, Connie and I just fear for our safety."
Being a small community, it didn’t take long for word to spread. Durham said she has been visited by most of the school’s other coaches, fearful of their own well-being.
"I don’t blame any of them, and it’s going to make it incredibly tough to find someone that would want to come here to coach," Durham said.
"In my 11 years here, I’ve never had a single parent complain about him or his coaching style before. It made me very angry that anyone would go to that extent to ruin someone’s career, and their life. It made me ashamed to know it’s someone who lives here in this community, because this is where I have lived all my life."
It took some coaxing, but Ware has agreed to finish the season as the Lady Tigers’ coach. But she admits there will be some worry in the back of her mind because of what happened with Coach Parker.
"I never saw him do anything to warrant what was said about him in the first place," Ware said. "I wasn’t going to take the job, but for the good of the girls I decided to.
"I won’t coach past this season. In fact, I have decided to retire after this year. Who in their right mind would come here to coach now? Unless it’s a local person that knows the people and feels like they can trust them. But I can’t think of anybody who would do it."
E-mail Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com
This story was published Friday, January 21, 2005
