Sunbright Coach Fired During Cancer Recovery!

[BlueDevil58]

http://tnhighschoolfootball.com/joe-kent-promoted-interim-head-coach-sunbright/

So Sunbright was coming off a big win and the principal fired the coach, who is currently recovering from cancer surgery and chemo and has the team improving, over "deep philosophical differences?"

What happened?  Did he not play somebody's kid or was the play calling not to the principal's liking?

[Sunny1]

The coach resigned the week prior to the Harriman game . Forced maybe but  I don't know . The coach went thru the cancer before the spring but it wasn't public knowledge . Pretty sure it nothing to do with someone's kid not getting to play .

[CoalfieldPride]

I know the coach..he is still receiving treatment..Very wrong !!! The article is in the Morgan County Today newspaper.. And the issue was someone's kid not getting to play ! 

[CoalfieldPride]

 

HERE IS THE ARTICLE !

To all the people who supported me, thank you!  I  have brought Faith, Family, and Football to our football program and have made great improvements to the program.  We had a successful Rett Syndrome Awareness Fundraiser last season that raised $3,000 for my bonus daughter's awful disability.  The opposing team, Greenback High School's Administration raised $600.00, Sunbright administration didn't raise any. We held the 1st Spring Game and 1st Youth League Camp in Sunbright history, both were highly successful.  We also had $20,000 donated by an alumni to get a state of the art weight room.  The alumni stated he wanted to make the donation because he was proud of how the program was being ran.  I have 3 bonus kids in THIS school, I bring my handicapped bonus daughter to school 2 times a week and she loves the football team, my other bonus daughter is a high school cheerleader. I call them bonus because I believe they are a bonus and not step kids.  I live one mile right down the road from the school, so this is our families life! 

My resignation was a forced one and one that MY family did not feel was justified.  I was told if I didn't resign I would be removed and transferred to another school.  I  have worked so hard to be at Sunbright  School and to be with my bonus kids and so close to home.  I need to be at Sunbright so I can bring and take home my disabled daughter. She can only tolerate going a half a day two days a week because of Rett Syndrome.

I personally had not received one parent complaint or school administration complaint (principal).  I was blindsided by the principal Ron Treadway's decision and feel it was wrong. Mr. Treadway's explanation was a couple of parents had complained to him.  As a coach of 20 years experience, this happens to every football program that has a new coach and is changing the culture of the school.  A few parents complaints could have been easily dealt with if I would have been made aware.  At no time did Mr. Treadway tell the parents to talk to me personally or let me know there were parents complaining about playing time.  I received the Head Coaching position the middle of July 2016 when the Head Coach at that time resigned and left them in a tight spot, so I only had a couple weeks to prepare for last season. Since then, I fell like I have came a long way in a short time and totally changed the program, as it is starting to show on the field now. But about the time all of the hard work paid off, I was forced to leave to allow someone else to step in.

I have not discussed this piece of personal information with anyone but my family, principal (Ron Treadway), and director of schools Ronnie Wilson. I have been fighting cancer since February and the football team did not know.  So if at times it seemed I wasn't all in, I truly was, just struggling to keep everything going while healing from a major surgery.  I turned down my therapy that was highly recommended by my doctor following my surgery so I would not miss out on my coaching duties.  I loved the football team, these are players who came to my wedding and that I had preached Faith, Family, and Football to.  I could not quit on the boys.   So only coaching three games in this season and coaching the hardest games Greenback and Coalfield, I feel betrayed by the school administration (Ron Treadway).  My family has gave their all for this football program and feel that this was not the way it should have been handled.  Mr. Treadway told me to resign for health reasons and everyone would pat me on the back for coaching through health issues.  I told Mr. Treadway I would not resign for health reasons because as of right now God has healed me of my cancer and that would not be the right thing to do and lie about that! If I were going to resign for health reasons, I would have done that earlier in the year while I had cancer and my surgery.  I have told my bonus daughter never quit or give up on a cure for Rett Syndrome and told the players to never give up or quit either!   I want everyone to know I didn't quit or give up on them! 

[TitleTown21]

sounds like a raw deal to me, and people wonder why some schools cant be successful programs.  This is why  

[wingman10]

tough situation

[fallguy17]

Sad situation. Our best to the coach. When one door closes a bigger one usually opens.

Edited September 27, 2017 by fallguy17

[Sunny1]

I wasn't Very Wrong!! , I know the coach as well and as I said the cancer surgery was prior to the spring just as his letter to the paper says. The letter also says he turned down therapy which you say he is still undergoing. The coach was using a what if scenario about complaints of playing time which he would have been very capable of handling without a doubt. Considering Sunbright has 20 or less players  I doubt someone was complaining about playing time unless it was playing too much . I have no problem with the coach and as a Tiger fan I don't like seeing a coaching change this early in the season , There has to be more to the story !    

[SaturdayMorningQuarterback]

The only reason a coach should be asked to resign during a season is if he is unable to perform those duties. He says he was and if he was attending practices and games and coaching to the best of his ability then the school was very wrong. I wonder if he had missed a lot of school or a lot of practices and they thought he couldn't handle the work. There are always 2 sides to a story, but if he was in fact doing his job and was fired over a parent complaint then that is awful. 

[CoalfieldPride]

Sunny you must not know him that well.  He is now taking treatments and therapy that he didn't do because he didn't miss work or not ONE football practice. The players and no one else knew about the cancer except for the principal, director of schools, and his family. And it was over certain players not playing and the principal didn't back him after he cleaned the program up.  Just look at his motto for the program..Faith, Family, and Football.  

[PaPaLegba]

I agree if he was fired over a parent complaint over Playing time then Sunbright should just get rid of football. there has to be more to it than that one would think

[maj]

Sounds bad but I've learned through painful experience not to get too invested when I only hear one side of a situation.  Something tells me there is more to the story than some heartless administrator kicking a guy while he is down.