Former West Orange football coach Dee Brown repeatedly defied warnings from school administrators and later was fired from his position as a school resource officer after failing to disclose a September arrest, according to an Orange County Public Schools report obtained Wednesday by the Orlando Sentinel.
An internal investigation determined Brown willfully allowed unauthorized individuals to serve as assistant coaches during practices and games. He was placed on “relief of duty” with pay on Sept. 11, two days after the Warriors lost 14-7 at home vs. Dr. Phillips.
Brown also organized an unauthorized football practice while school activities were suspended due to a hurricane shutdown. That tip, made Sept. 5 by a parent “that has made previous complaints about the football program,” noted the practice was announced as being a “voluntary workout,” which consisted of “unauthorized individuals having access to students.”
Hurricane Dorian forced football postponements during Week 3 of the regular season.
Despite multiple warnings from then-West Orange Principal Bill Floyd, assistant principal Kim Santana and athletic director Jerry Shafer, Brown allowed Ike Taylor, Louis Murphy and Kyle Wilson to act as coaches despite not being cleared by the school district.
The OCPS document shows Brown admitting to the school district that Taylor relayed defensive play calls through a headset to the sideline “from the parking lot” and that Murphy “was in the coach’s box” during the Monday night hurricane makeup game on Sept. 9.
Brown signed a document just three days before that game acknowledging that the three unauthorized coaches could not take part in practices or games, because they had not gained clearance from the school district. Brown was informed as early as Aug. 1 that Taylor was not yet cleared to work with athletes at Orange County schools, and that Murphy had yet to submit paperwork.
Taylor and Murphy were present during a practice on Sept. 10 during which all gates at the football field “were locked and secured.” That led to Brown being removed from his position as head coach pending the outcome of the investigation.
“Statements from multiple assistant coaches indicated Mr. Brown did not agree with administration regarding the clearance of the three coaches and they [administrators] are not going to tell him how to run his program,” according to the report.
Brown was arrested on Sept. 14 and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm that was discovered inside his carry-on bag at Orlando International Airport. He failed to self-report the arrest to the school district, as required during the probationary period of his employment. Brown was terminated on Sept. 18.
Although documentation shows school administrators offered numerous warnings to Brown regarding the assistant coaches, Orange County Public Schools determined that West Orange had not provided proper oversight of the football program.
“There does appear to be an atmosphere within the program of allowing individuals around the program that have not been cleared,” according to the report. “These matters were addressed with the principal on Oct. 2. The principal did acknowledge he failed to provide oversight to the program. The principal was counseled regarding the matter. The new principal has since taken over the school and has been informed of the concerns and instructed to ensure the program is monitored going forward.”
Mike McGlynn took over as interim coach in place of Brown on Sept. 11. He later was named head coach on Oct. 21, but he has since been released from that position by West Orange interim principal Melissa Gordon.
West Orange began accepting applications for a new head football coach on Dec. 4.
