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<\/p>\nBefore Chad Hanson coached a game for the Heritage High School girls basketball team last season, he had problems with two parents.<\/p>\n
The first was the mother of a senior who demanded her daughter be placed back on the team after getting cut. When Hanson did, because he says he was under pressure from athletic director Jill Schrader, that uncorked turmoil with another parent.<\/p>\n
Hanson says that second parent, Reggie Sanchez, was so infuriated by the re-addition of the cut player to the team that he \u201cmade it his mission\u201d to get Hanson removed as coach. Sanchez wrote numerous emails to the Heritage and Littleton Public Schools administration throughout the season calling for Hanson\u2019s termination.<\/p>\n
Sanchez\u2019s emails accused Hanson of verbal abuse, intimidation and, ultimately, grooming — claims the coach says are \u201ccompletely unsubstantiated and fabricated,\u201d but led to his resignation \u201cto save face for the district\u201d on Feb. 6, with five games left.<\/p>\n
Hanson\u2019s situation at Heritage epitomizes the power parents hold in today\u2019s prep sports world, where fathers and mothers of players can create leverage to get a coach removed.<\/p>\n
While parent pressure on coaches has long been a staple of high school athletics \u2014 and can lead to positive change in the case of abusive coaches \u2014 The Post interviewed more than 15 coaches and administrators who said it has been amplified over the past several years, and often has nothing to do with tamping down an out-of-control coach.<\/p>\n
As part of the reporting for this story, The Post uncovered at least 12 other high school coaching exits in the metro area over the last two years alone that were, in some way or another, caused by parents.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an issue coaches and administrators say looms over every prep sports season in Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou empower parents an inch, they\u2019re going to take a mile, and it\u2019s clear they\u2019ve figured out school districts do not stand up for coaches,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cAs a parent, if you decide you want a coach out for whatever reason\u2026 you can go as far as you want and there\u2019s no penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hanson says the issues with parent influence on his program began Nov. 14, when he decided to cut the daughter of Amanda Hurley, a former Heritage administrator and the current principal at LPS\u2019 Euclid Middle School.<\/p>\n
That decision backfired on Hanson, who subsequently became a target of what he called a \u201cconspiracy\u201d by Sanchez. Hanson said Sanchez, who was briefly a volunteer assistant coach with the program, \u201cstarted pretty light\u201d with his accusations after becoming angry when Hanson reinstated Hurley\u2019s daughter on the team.<\/p>\n
Hanson says Heritage administration told him he was not allowed to see Sanchez\u2019s emails about him, but The Denver Post obtained them via a public records request. Those emails reveal that Sanchez grew increasingly frustrated throughout the season with both Hanson and the administration\u2019s handling of his complaints.<\/p>\n
In a letter sent to HHS principal Stacey Riendeau, Sanchez wrote that Hurley and Schrader showed \u201cshameless cronyism, and the pressure tactics, the bullying, the shaming, and the guilting of Chad Hanson for this (roster) decision was a great sin.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sanchez saved most of his ire for Hanson. After quitting the staff in November, Sanchez followed a playbook that\u2019s becoming the norm for parents who want a high school coach removed: He escalated his claims until they became a headache the district couldn\u2019t ignore.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was using big-time buzzwords \u2014 he started with \u2018Chad\u2019s playing mind-games with the kids,\u2019\u201d Hanson said. \u201cThen it escalated to, I\u2019m promising things and not delivering. Then it was verbal abuse. He wasn\u2019t getting what he wanted, and my assistants refuted all his accusations, so finally he wrote a letter saying I was grooming three of the girls on the team to have sex. I went home that day and got a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Arapahoe County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Littleton Police Department said they have no record of an investigation into Hanson.<\/p>\n
Sanchez, Schrader, Hurley, Riendeau and Littleton Public Schools all declined interview requests when contacted by The Post. In a statement, Sanchez cited \u201cprogressively abusive ways\u201d employed by the coach throughout the season as the reason for his actions.<\/p>\n
Hanson said Schrader and Riendeau supported him internally throughout the controversy, until \u201cit became politically smart for them not to anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
In text messages from Riendeau to Hanson that the coach provided to The Post, the principal told him to be \u201cpatient,\u201d and that the school was undergoing a review that was \u201cthe proper process for clearing your name.\u201d That was Saturday, Feb. 4. Two days later, Hanson says the district told him to resign or be fired. He chose the former.<\/p>\n
Hanson’s story parallels the type of pressure coaches say parents campaigning against them can successfully apply. Eventually, even the most loyal administrators tend to pivot under prolonged pressure.<\/p>\n
Coaches say they need administrators who are willing to take a stand in an uncomfortable situation with parents, but that because of the political nature of administrative positions, that support can be tough to come by.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of parents I\u2019ve encountered have been great, but all of us coaches too often have to deal with out-of-control, unreasonable parental expectations,\u201d Cherry Creek football coach Dave Logan said. \u201cAnd when it becomes personal, and parents try to get coaches fired, I think administrations need to be supportive of the coaches that they\u2019ve hired.\u201d<\/p>\n
One Class 5A athletic director admitted it\u2019s \u201cnot ideal\u201d for an AD or principal\u2019s career to put themselves at the center of a parent\/coach controversy.<\/p>\n
That AD also acknowledged the lines of communication between coach, parent and administration can quickly break down because \u201cparents are naturally seeing things through a different lens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important the parents have a voice, and they\u2019re entitled to that voice,\u201d said the AD, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional backlash. \u201cBut how does that empowerment carry onto the field or court and affect the philosophy and culture of a program? It\u2019s not always done the right way or in a way that helps the kid, the coach, the team, the school or the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Heritage, Hanson said Hurley interrupted a post-tryout meeting with another player to complain about her daughter getting cut. Then, she demanded a meeting with Hanson the next morning, when the coach, his staff, Hurley and Schrader all convened at the school.<\/p>\n
In that meeting, Hanson says Schrader, Heritage’s athletic director, implied he needed to put Hurley\u2019s daughter back on the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor all the right reasons, I cut her,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cFor all the wrong reasons, (Schrader) wanted me to put her back on the team. She made it seem like I made a mistake by cutting a girl the entire coaching staff agreed didn\u2019t deserve a spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local coaches say the monetization of youth sports, the rise of club sports and a more individualist mindset by families following the COVID shutdowns is fueling the tactics used by Hurley and Sanchez.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do parents feel like they have so much pull? It\u2019s because administrators at the highest level give them too much pull,\u201d Rocky Mountain baseball coach Scott Bullock said. \u201cIn the club sports world we live in, parents feel like they have the right to have a say and make decisions when it comes to coaching, and that\u2019s trickled into high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Colorado Springs, Air Academy girls basketball coach Chris Gunn was fired following a months-long conflict between one family in the program and himself.<\/p>\n
The parents accused Gunn of using divide-and-conquer tactics among his players, creating and sponsoring a bullying\/hazing environment and using inappropriate language, among other complaints. The school officially dismissed him March 22. Two days later, more than 30 Air Academy students held a walk-out to protest his firing.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Post, Gunn called the accusations “false and defamatory, and just made-up embellishments.”<\/p>\n
Gunn filed a civil lawsuit against the family in response. And in a rebuttal letter to Air Academy administration following his firing, Gunn said the family’s complaints are “all about playing time” and that the district “dropped the ball” in regards to properly addressing the mental health of the player at the center of the controversy.<\/p>\n
Air Academy athletic director Kali Maxwell and principal Dan Olson declined to comment when contacted by The Post. The parents who brought the allegations forward and are named in Gunn’s lawsuit in El Paso County Court did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n
According to emails, documents and letters obtained by The Post, drama engulfed Gunn’s team for the majority of the season as the Kadets made a run to the Class 5A Great 8.<\/p>\n
Gunn said Air Academy administrators supported him during the season until an official complaint was filed by the player\u2019s parents with the district on March 3, the day following the final game. After that, Gunn said the school’s administration refused to back him as a coach, but like Hanson, permitted him to keep teaching at the school.<\/p>\n
In a statement to The Post, Academy School District 20 said, “team performance, team\/coach interaction, interpersonal communication skills, team member character development, team member skills development (and) team morale” were all considered in Gunn’s termination.<\/p>\n
“I asked (Maxwell) how to handle the family, no answers. I asked what about the mental health of the other players, no answer, and as soon as I take (the player) off the team, all hell breaks loose,” Gunn wrote in his rebuttal letter to the school, which addressed each allegation against him.<\/p>\n
“This child was spiraling out of control due to playing time… Their child is having (mental health issues) and (the parents\u2019) main concern is why her position and minutes changed.”<\/p>\n
The parent-led issues that engulfed Hanson and Gunn is often more pronounced in high school basketball programs in particular, due to the popularity of the sport, its high profile and the fact that there\u2019s only five starting varsity spots.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s getting a little insane out here (with parent pressure on basketball coaches),\u201d ThunderRidge boys basketball coach Joe Ortiz said. \u201cThe parents are absolutely feeling power all over the place. We\u2019re talking about a $5,000 job here. This isn\u2019t the head coach of the Broncos.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a year-to-year, easily voidable coaching contract, both Hanson and Gunn had little ground to stand on and fight for their jobs when their respective districts decided to get rid of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs my lawyer explained to me, if this was my teaching job, it would be different because there\u2019s a (true) contract and a collective bargaining agreement,\u201d Hanson said. \u201cBut because it\u2019s just a coaching contract, I pretty much have no power. I could sue (Sanchez), I could write a cease-and-desist order \u2014 but it\u2019s not going to get me my job back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn, whose civil lawsuit is ongoing, feels the same way.<\/p>\n
“What I’m confused about is, (Maxwell) even told me, ‘Hey next year, just cut (the player whose family complained),\u2019\u201d Gunn said. \u201cShe knew it was a headache we didn\u2019t need; she knew (the player\u2019s) family was telling lies to try to take me down. But it\u2019s me who doesn\u2019t have a coaching job now.”<\/p>\n
Former boys basketball coach Troy Pachner, who was subjected to what he claimed was an \u201corchestrated parent campaign\u201d at Arapahoe that resulted in him and his entire staff resigning just before the season began last November, believes \u201ccoaches need more of the protection that we afford teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe there needs to be a coaches\u2019 union of some type, or those contracts need to be made much more in the manner of teachers\u2019 contracts,\u201d Pachner said. \u201cBecause the truth is, why would people invest their lives in coaching when they can be removed at the whims of parents who complain, almost always, about (coaching) style, playing time, winning or roles within a program?\u201d<\/p>\n
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In the Douglas County School District, both Mountain Vista girls basketball coach Mike Willahan and Castle View boys basketball coach David Johnston stepped away from their positions after the season largely due to parental pressure.<\/p>\n
Willahan, who spent 11 seasons leading the Golden Eagles, coached the last two winters on district-implemented performance improvement plans that were the result of a group of parents reporting him to the administration during the 2021-22 season. The heat trickled into this past season, when the coach said being labeled a \u201cmental abuser\u201d for his intense approach ate at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pressures did have an effect on me,\u201d Willahan said. \u201c(This past season) I played kids who probably didn\u2019t deserve to play because I was trying to make people happy. I knew it was time for me to get out when I started to do that, and not what was truly best for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willahan also said he had some \u201cgood conversations\u201d with the parent group that pressured him, despite the fact he feels unfairly maligned by a process that included an array of meetings between the parents and district administration that did not include Willahan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was made uncomfortable, and I\u2019d be a hypocrite if I didn\u2019t grow during this process, because I did,\u201d Willahan said. \u201cIt made me a better coach, a more reflective coach, probably a more sensitive coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, parents at Castle View took issue with a perceived lack of investment from Johnston, who has two young kids, and the program\u2019s record.<\/p>\n
The Sabercats had four losing seasons under Johnston playing in the Continental League, including an 11-12 mark last year, after which Johnston said a parent group led by a member of the booster club presented a performance improvement plan to then-Castle View athletic director Derek Cordes. It was not the only parent-driven coaching departure at Castle View this past school year, according to multiple prep coaching sources.<\/p>\n
The plan outlined a number of requirements the parents wanted Johnston to abide by in order to be renewed as a coach each year, including guaranteeing winning a certain amount of league games and input on all coaching hires.<\/p>\n
Even with support from their respective athletic directors, both Willahan and Johnston, now an assistant at Legend, decided the ongoing controversy surrounding their situations wasn\u2019t worth continuing to lead a program. Johnston declined to comment further for this story. Cordes did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe parents are getting more brazen over the past few years, and especially since COVID,\u201d Willahan said. \u201cI\u2019ve been physically bumped, I\u2019ve been stared down, I\u2019ve had people waiting for me outside my office\u2026 There has to be a zero tolerance for that, but there\u2019s not, and then it becomes a headache for (administration) at the district level. The coach is always put through the ringer and it\u2019s extremely draining, even if you come out the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
For Hanson, walking the halls of Heritage last spring with rumors swirling was \u201creally tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
HHS administration did not let him play in the student-staff basketball game, with Riendeau citing Hanson\u2019s \u201csafety\u201d as the reason. Riendeau also advised him to stop coming to girls basketball games as a fan after his resignation, a directive Hanson ignored. HHS administration then sent Schrader and a school resource officer to the senior night game, specifically to supervise Hanson.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Riendeau issued Hanson a formal letter of direction on March 8, ordering the coach to cease all interactions with players and families in the girls basketball program.<\/p>\n
The letter cited multiple complaints that Hanson continued to interact with Heritage players at school. At the center of the letter was the allegation that Hanson \u201caggressively yelled\u201d at Sanchez\u2019s daughter in the locker room after the Eagles\u2019 home loss to Chaparral on Jan. 31, for what Hanson perceived as her dad coaching her from the stands.<\/p>\n
It was the most intense point in the season and gave Sanchez leverage, especially after Hanson was overheard telling his assistant he was going to \u201cwhoop (Sanchez\u2019s) (expletive),\u201d a comment that made its way back to Riendeau.<\/p>\n
Hanson admits he made the remark, but denies threatening Sanchez\u2019s daughter. Riendeau’s letter of direction says that the coach said to Sanchez’s daughter in the locker room, “If you do that again (look to your dad in the stands), I don’t know what I’m going to do.”<\/p>\n
The evening of Feb. 1, Sanchez emailed Schrader with the subject line \u201cReport of Chad Hanson\u2019s Abusive Behavior on 1\/31\/23 and Request that He Be Removed Immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the start of an email blitz by Sanchez, who emailed HHS administration at least seven more times over the next two days, leading to Schrader\u2019s email to the Eagles basketball community on Feb. 2 announcing that Hanson was being put on leave from coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Hanson\u2019s) abusive outbursts towards our daughter that night (of Jan. 31) were a concern for us,\u201d Sanchez wrote in his statement to The Post. \u201cWe, as well as many others, reported our concerns to the school officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this time, Riendeau also decided to pull Hanson from his basketball weight training class, abruptly switching him with the teacher for the team sports class.<\/p>\n
Then, on Feb. 6., Schrader emailed the community again, letting them know of Hanson\u2019s resignation. That email contained a two-sentence statement by Hanson that the coach says HHS administration wrote for him.<\/p>\n
Hanson said he was never interviewed by the district for a formal investigation. He said he encouraged Riendeau and Schrader to review the gym\u2019s Hudl taps, recordings of practices that contain audio, but is unsure if they did.<\/p>\n
And Hanson said the recent situation involving Blair Hubbard at Broomfield \u2014 where the well-supported football coach was criminally investigated and accused of grooming, costing him his coaching and teaching positions \u2014 lent legitimacy to Sanchez\u2019s \u201cfalse claims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis goes back to the whole rumor mill. How does it look to take a class away from me? To tell me I can\u2019t interact with female students?\u201d Hanson said. \u201cLike the entire second half of last (school) year, it looked horrible and made me look worse and worse. And I was given no recourse to defend my character, just as they never showed me any of (Sanchez\u2019s) letters and Stacey kept most of her communication with me verbal, for an obvious reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Post spoke with two since-graduated Heritage players who were senior captains on the team, Addie Shipley and Emma Texel.<\/p>\n
Both said all of the allegations against Hanson are false and that Sanchez repeatedly approached families and athletes throughout the season \u201casking them whether they would support the ousting of Hanson,\u201d as Schrader wrote in a Feb. 7 email to Sanchez outlining the school\u2019s concerns against him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor (Riendeau and Schrader) to let the rumors continue and not directly come out against them, but still have him employed as a high school teacher, that just seems completely inappropriate and confusing and wrong,\u201d Shipley said. \u201cOur peers all thought (the grooming accusation) was true, because that rumor had spread, when it wasn\u2019t true at all. It had no merit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texel acknowledged Hanson was much more intense than the previous coach, Terry Nickels, whom sources say was also run off by parent pressure following the 2022 season.<\/p>\n
But Texel said nothing Hanson did was outside the normal bounds of coaching, including Hanson yelling at the team during the Jan. 31 locker room incident, and that the school\u2019s administration \u201cwas definitely trying to sweep his forced resignation under the rug and make sure no one heard about (Hanson\u2019s side of the story).\u201d<\/p>\n
If three things are clear, it\u2019s this:<\/p>\n
Coaches are fed up with what they see as habitual parent interference.<\/p>\n
Administrators, bound by privacy concerns and a fear of legal action, are usually not in a position to support embattled coaches.<\/p>\n
And dissatisfied parents aren\u2019t going away.<\/p>\n
So with parent\/coach conflicts \u201cpart of the future of high school sports,\u201d Pachner argues, coaches and districts need to account for those potential scenarios in their program handbooks and bottom lines.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDistricts need to have a legitimate plan, or designated person (beyond the district athletic director), or extra money set aside to fight these recurring battles with parents,\u201d said Pachner, who won two state titles as Valor Christian\u2019s boys basketball coach. \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019re going to continue to see a process that is going to chase out a lot of good coaches, even if they\u2019re not perfect coaches, who are basically donating their time to kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coaches need to have a plan, too, says Valor Christian\u2019s Bret McGatlin. As the Eagles\u2019 first-year football coach last year, McGatlin held in-home meetings with every senior on his roster, and planned to do so again in his second season.<\/p>\n
That sort of outreach is critical in maintaining positive relationships with families, McGatlin says. It\u2019s all the more important in a high-profile, program like Valor Christian, which is on its fourth head football coach since 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t have a gameplan for interacting with parents, it\u2019s going to bite you,\u201d McGatlin said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the culture today, so if you don\u2019t embrace it, (chaos) will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what\u2019s taken root at Legend, where over the past couple of seasons a small group of parents came together and hired a lawyer to try to get baseball coach Scott Boyd fired.<\/p>\n
Following the 2022 season, those parents filed a complaint with the Douglas County School District outlining a long list of allegations against Boyd, including fostering a bullying environment, financial improprieties with booster club money, player favoritism and manipulating statistics.<\/p>\n
A district investigation cleared Boyd of policy violations regarding bullying and improper use of funds, and noted there was \u201cnot a definitive determination as to whether Mr. Boyd violated the District policy on staff conduct.\u201d Boyd was allowed to return as Legend\u2019s coach this past spring \u201cunder certain conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parent group was dissatisfied with that conclusion and emailed Legend and DCSD administration again during the Titans\u2019 season this April. The group\u2019s lawyer, Dale Pugh, wrote he was \u201cgoing to ensure that every parent and player in the program are fully aware of the allegations of misconduct against Coach Boyd and the improper accounting of monies raised for the program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boyd, Legend athletic director Dan Simington and DCSD athletic director Derek Cheney all declined to comment, citing potential litigation in the case.<\/p>\n
But Boyd, with district support, was able to withstand the pressure. Others, like Hanson and Gunn, could not.<\/p>\n
Hanson is back teaching at Heritage this fall, but isn\u2019t coaching for the first time in 22 years. There is palpable tension between him and the HHS administration, fueled by Riendeau\u2019s letter of direction in March and what Hanson says were continued mixed signals from his bosses.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s been treated \u201clike he was found guilty of grooming,\u201d even though he\u2019s been allowed to remain in the classroom and said he was also verbally offered another coaching job at the school. Heritage told Hanson he was not permitted to make an emailed statement to the community after his resignation, and the coach, fearing for his teaching job, followed the order.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Schrader) was having a tough day with parents of our girls golf team, our coach quit and she informally said, \u2018You want to be our girls golf coach?\u2019\u201d Hanson recalled. \u201cThis was two days after losing my basketball job. It was such an upsetting moment for me I just walked out of the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hanson doesn\u2019t know if he\u2019ll coach again. Dunn wants to at some point. He\u2019s teaching in Denver Public Schools this fall because he couldn\u2019t stomach staying at Air Academy, where the Kadets will be a preseason title contender this year \u2014 with someone else on the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to see another coach in there, and my office (was) 125 steps from the gym \u2014 I could almost see it from my classroom,\u201d Gunn said. \u201cToo tough. But that\u2019s what coaching is these days \u2014 tough. And it\u2019s not because of the players. It\u2019s because of some parents, or in my case just one family, taking things way, way too far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.<\/em><\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"