The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association determined there were no grounds to sanction Collierville High School after an investigation conducted by Collierville Schools into allegations of racist and disrespectful behavior at a middle school track meet earlier this month.
TSSAA executive director Mark Reeves wrote in a May 20 letter to Collierville Schools superintendent Russell Dyer that based on an investigation led by the school district, “we see no reason to take any action toward Collierville High School.”
Collierville Schools provided The Commercial Appeal with a copy of the letter, in addition to a document sent by Dyer to the TSSAA containing the findings of its investigation.
The investigation stems from a report sent to the TSSAA by Ronald King, the head official at a TMSAA sectional track meet for A/AA schools held at Collierville’s stadium on May 4 that ran long and forced the Collierville High School boys’ lacrosse team to delay the start of a playoff game. King, who is Black, claimed that those participating in the track meet were subjected to racially motivated threats by those associated with the Collierville lacrosse team.
The Collierville Schools investigation concluded that “although it was discovered there was some disrespectful behavior, it was not demonstrated by our Collierville Schools employees,” Dyer wrote.
Dyer noted that track meet officials were wearing maroon shirts that could have been confused with Collierville’s colors and alleged that some track officials, coaches and spectators "contributed to the controversial events that afternoon."
“The preponderance of evidence based on witnesses interviewed and video footage observed,” Dyer added, “leads to a conclusion there was no racially charged behavior demonstrated by Collierville Schools employees nor our student athletes.”
Collierville High School principal Roger Jones, Collierville Schools assistant superintendent Jeff Jones, Collierville Schools chief of human resources Cecelia Booker, and Collierville Schools director of human resources Jennifer Ragland conducted the review and interviews for the investigation.
King, in his TSSAA report, alleged that parents were “spewing disgusting language” at track and field participants. He cited a specific moment early on in the confrontation in which he alleged “fans were circled on the fence, saying words such as ‘these Black (expletive) need to get off the field,’ which then forced a dominantly black crowd to feel threatened by a dominantly white crowd automatically.”
King also wrote that a Collierville lacrosse coach "stated that if the track meet did not end by 5 p.m., he would instruct his team to rush and take over the field.”
The Collierville investigation confirmed this allegation to be true, but noted that “through more discussions with the Collierville Schools athletic director, (the coach) later understood this would not happen. The visiting team was sent to the practice field, and the home lacrosse team went to the locker room.”
The investigation findings stated that the TMSAA track meet had been scheduled more than a year ago, with a slated start time of 8:00 a.m. and an end time of 3 p.m. But the track meet had the stadium reserved until 6 p.m. and the investigation concluded the event did not clear the stadium until 6:30 p.m.
King also alleged that Collierville Schools athletic director Jeff Curtis charged at his wife, who was also a TSSAA official for the track meet, when attempting to clear the field. But Dyer wrote that, “video footage and witness accounts confirm that Mr. Curtis stood with his arms folded, and there is no evidence that Mr. Curtis ever charged Mrs. King. It is an unfounded allegation.”
Dyer added the tournament director had previously requested a different set of officials for the TMSAA sectional meet in April.
“That request was based on previous issues with the assigned officials,” Dyer wrote. “That request, however, was denied at the state level.”
“Overscheduling of the facility led to confusion, elevated tone of voice, and a sense of frustration,” Dyer wrote in his final determination. “However, there is no proof of racial slurs or any type of physical confrontations. This is based on hours of investigation, witness interviews, and observation of cell phone and surveillance video.”
Dyer acknowledged a lack of communication between Collierville athletics administrators and spectators “could have eased tension and led to a calmer environment by sharing with all in attendance the plan moving forward that evening. Planned training on communication and scheduling of events should prevent future issues.”
Dyer requested that the TSSAA review video from May 4, as well as issue a written and public apology “for the actions of the officials that day, specifically leaking their TMSAA incident report to the media prior to a fact-finding investigation.” The school district also requested that the officials assigned to the TMSAA track meet not be assigned to events hosted by Collierville High School moving forward.
Reeves wrote in his response that the TSSAA made King “aware of the need to allow an investigation to conclude prior to commenting publicly on events like those of May 4. Our Regulations for Officials do not currently prohibit that sort of public comment, but that is something we will be addressing in the future.”
Historically, TSSAA officials reports from sporting events are made available for reporters upon request.
This incident occurred just a few days after former Collierville High School girls basketball coach Pattie Gardner claimed that the racial makeup of her team played a role in her recent firing by the school.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on X:@mgiannotto
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