$750,000 Lawsuit Files Against Warren County School District

[BingoLong]

2 hours ago, BDURHAM said:

The definition of what happened to the ex-coach is ambiguous. The school said they were going in a different direction and thanked her for her service as coach. Apparently, coaches in Warren County operate on one-year agreements of some type. Rumors are that she was asked to resign, and refused. Whatever happened, it appears that the school system did not renew the one-year agreement with the ex-coach to come back for another season. One and done tenure as coach. Stotts has been a guidance counselor at the high school in Warren County.

Several years ago, the former girls coach who is now an AD and assistant principal dismissed Stotts from his staff on the first day of the season. That reality made the hiring of Stotts a mystery to many people in Warren County.

All high school coaching postions are year to year. At least in public schools.

[MidTNOldHead]

I don't like the situation from either side.  The player may have been wrongly kicked off the team but $750,000-kind of wronged?  

 

[cbg]

4 hours ago, MidTNOldHead said:

I don't like the situation from either side.  The player may have been wrongly kicked off the team but $750,000-kind of wronged?  

 

It will be interesting to see if the Warren County School District allows this to go before a jury or they settle out of court before going to trial.  My guess is that this case never goes to trial.  If this goes before a jury, they could award even more than the $750K.  I was on a jury where they were asking for 185K and were awarded 1.2 million.  You never know what will happen in that jury room.  

[thegreatwhite1]

16 hours ago, cbg said:

It will be interesting to see if the Warren County School District allows this to go before a jury or they settle out of court before going to trial.  My guess is that this case never goes to trial.  If this goes before a jury, they could award even more than the $750K.  I was on a jury where they were asking for 185K and were awarded 1.2 million.  You never know what will happen in that jury room.  

Playing high school sports is a privilege not a right.  The college did not have to rescind the scholarship.  Scholarship offers are pulled all the time for a number of reasons. That was 100% their choice.  A coach can keep, cut, or dismiss any player that they want to without reason anytime they want.  Is that the right way to run a program?? I don't think that it is, but these are the facts of the matter. This case has absolutely 0% chance of going in the plaintiff's favor. Futhermore, I'd imagine that these administrators and the coach are a part of some teaching or coaching organization that will cover at least 1 million dollars each in legal fees. Obviously the kid and her family feel like there were "damages" thus the lawsuit.  Unfortunately, the law is not on their side in this case.  

[cbg]

1 hour ago, thegreatwhite1 said:

Playing high school sports is a privilege not a right.  The college did not have to rescind the scholarship.  Scholarship offers are pulled all the time for a number of reasons. That was 100% their choice.  A coach can keep, cut, or dismiss any player that they want to without reason anytime they want.  Is that the right way to run a program?? I don't think that it is, but these are the facts of the matter. This case has absolutely 0% chance of going in the plaintiff's favor. Futhermore, I'd imagine that these administrators and the coach are a part of some teaching or coaching organization that will cover at least 1 million dollars each in legal fees. Obviously the kid and her family feel like there were "damages" thus the lawsuit.  Unfortunately, the law is not on their side in this case.  

What you are saying is true about high school athletics being a privilege and not a right, but NO ONE ever knows what will happen if a case goes before a jury.  Again, I have been in a couple of jury rooms and it's always a little crazy.  That is why my prediction is you will see a settlement before the case goes to trial.

[ICrushBigOrange]

4 hours ago, cbg said:

What you are saying is true about high school athletics being a privilege and not a right, but NO ONE ever knows what will happen if a case goes before a jury.  Again, I have been in a couple of jury rooms and it's always a little crazy.  That is why my prediction is you will see a settlement before the case goes to trial.

I agree I don't think it will go to trial either, but I feel like that will be because no judge would deem this to warrant a law suit... If the school board settles, they loose and all coaches and schools loose too. 

[BDURHAM]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:52 AM, cbg said:

That is absolutely not the truth.  Few if any college coaches or school administrators want to be in the middle of legal proceedings if there is any way possible to avoid being caught in the middle.  With that being said I have two questions:

1.  Why would a coach remove any player from the team for using the F WORD?  Yes, I fully understand the player must be held accountable for her actions.  Maybe extra running and even a one game suspension but if every kid or coach that used improper language was kicked off the team or fired, they would have no players or coaches available to play the games.

2.  If there was truly another player or coach that witnessed this situation, and they agree with the player then by all means the coach should be held accountable for their actions.  

 

The administration took the path of backing the coach and whispering to people that the kid was a problem. The reality is that the kid was never a problem on a team or classroom. The player says she has witnessed who back her not saying the f-word.  Why did the coach make that story up and other stories? I am not Sigmund Freud and do not have an answer for the ex=-coach's behavior..

 

[BDURHAM]

11 hours ago, thegreatwhite1 said:

Playing high school sports is a privilege not a right.  The college did not have to rescind the scholarship.  Scholarship offers are pulled all the time for a number of reasons. That was 100% their choice.  A coach can keep, cut, or dismiss any player that they want to without reason anytime they want.  Is that the right way to run a program?? I don't think that it is, but these are the facts of the matter. This case has absolutely 0% chance of going in the plaintiff's favor. Futhermore, I'd imagine that these administrators and the coach are a part of some teaching or coaching organization that will cover at least 1 million dollars each in legal fees. Obviously the kid and her family feel like there were "damages" thus the lawsuit.  Unfortunately, the law is not on their side in this case.  

I am going to assume you are not a lawyer, and most reasonable lawyers would not say the lawsuit has a zero percent chance in court.

I agree with you that a coach has the ability to dismiss anyone from a team. However, Ms. Winfree was never presented with the opportunity to present her witnesses and have them tell the coaches and administrators what they heard.

A lawyer could better explain the lawsuit and the grounds to you. Before you start making wild assumptions about the lawsuit, would it be too much to ask that you do a little legal research first? The lawsuit is dealing with due process, loss of property, and defamation.  

You can read the lawsuit here: https://bdnewsletter.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/doc-1-complaint-filed-4-18-2024.pdf

 

[pioneer42]

58 minutes ago, BDURHAM said:

The administration took the path of backing the coach and whispering to people that the kid was a problem. The reality is that the kid was never a problem on a team or classroom. The player says she has witnessed who back her not saying the f-word.  Why did the coach make that story up and other stories? I am not Sigmund Freud and do not have an answer for the ex=-coach's behavior..

 

Why did the coach get rehired after she was let go as an assistant by the former Warren County coach and the current AD?? Is that accurate?? I am very familiar with situations like this. Suprised lawsuits haven't happend before. If the coach unfairly let the player go, I think she has a shot because it cost her a scholarship. No college is going to offer a scholarship to a player that is kicked off of the team. Not going to happen. There are bad hires like this a bunch and kids are treated unfairly by coaches that can't coach a lick and have super long ropes somehow. Amazing how some of these coaches get hired and keep their job. 

[Indian]

41 minutes ago, pioneer42 said:

Why did the coach get rehired after she was let go as an assistant by the former Warren County coach and the current AD?? Is that accurate?? I am very familiar with situations like this. Suprised lawsuits haven't happend before. If the coach unfairly let the player go, I think she has a shot because it cost her a scholarship. No college is going to offer a scholarship to a player that is kicked off of the team. Not going to happen. There are bad hires like this a bunch and kids are treated unfairly by coaches that can't coach a lick and have super long ropes somehow. Amazing how some of these coaches get hired and keep their job. 

“No college is going to offer a scholarship to a player that is kicked off of the team.”

For language? I’m not seeing that as a dealbreaker. 

[pioneer42]

10 hours ago, Indian said:

“No college is going to offer a scholarship to a player that is kicked off of the team.”

For language? I’m not seeing that as a dealbreaker. 

Won't happen. College coaches are not going to go to the trouble for finding out why she was kicked off the team. It cost this young lady her senior season. Looks like the player may be right on this one. School let her  go after one season. This stuff happens more than you think. 

Edited May 2 by pioneer42

[TryNotToSuck]

I don't know what's going on in the town of McMinnville, but I've read this and it's disturbing. 

I'm a "player" person, and I want what's best for the player. If a player gets cut off the team because she said the "F word" then good grief. I mean, come on guys.

I wish there was a way for the player to transfer to a different program and just play ball. There are a lot of athletes that are stuck because they're in crappy situations regarding their team/coach. This is player just happens to be one them.