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01-22-2007, 01:00 PM
LLOYD â An investigation into Greenup County boys basketball coach Jim Hicks conducted by Corbin attorney Timothy Crawford centers on whether multiple basketball players were recruited illegally, The Independent has learned.
In documents obtained by The Independent dated Dec. 21, 2006, that inform Hicks of his original 10-day suspension, Greenup County Schools Superintendent John F. Younce outlines charges against Hicks that came as a result of Crawfordâs investigation.
Hicks, who verified the documents are authentic, denied the charges.
The coachâs involvement with several players was reviewed. The players listed in the charges are former Maryland high school player Saihou Jassey, former Greenup County players Zach Gillum and Cody Gillum, current Russell player Austin Robinson, current Ashland player Matt Thomas, current South Webster (Ohio) player Josh Campbell and an unidentified student from Indianapolis.
âAfter conducting a lengthy investigation, I am charging you with insubordination, conducting (sic) unbecoming a teacher and neglect of duty pursuant to KRS 161.790,â Younce wrote.
The report also indicates Hicks attempted to fire assistant basketball coach Jason Smith, but Younce said Hicks did not have the legal authority to do so.
âYou attempted to usurp my authority as Superintendent on December 20, 2006, and attempted to terminate the services of Jason Smith, Assistant Boysâ Basketball Coach,â Younce wrote. âUnder Kentucky law, only the superintendent has the authority (to) make personnel decisions, including the decision to terminate school staff.â
Whether Hicks attempted to fire Smith because of his participation in the internal investigation is unclear.
Smith couldnât be reached for comment Sunday.
Younce also claims Hicks asked the booster club treasurer for $400 to help offset tuition costs for Jassey at Rose Hill Christian that were being paid by the booster club president. Younce claims Hicks was given $400 from the booster club funds before they were deposited in the clubâs bank account.
Jassey played in summer games for Greenup County in the summer of 2004 when he was not enrolled as a student, according to the documents. Jassey never played for the Musketeers during a regular season and actually finished his senior year at Rose Hill. He also never played for the Royals.
According to the charges, Roger Gillum, father of Zach and Cody Gillum and the current Greenup County golf coach, was asked by Hicks to transfer his sons to Greenup County from Rose Hill. The charges claim Hicks promised Zach Gillum 25 shots a game and that Cody Gillum would start.
Reached by telephone Sunday, Gillum confirmed the charges.
The charges regarding his sons were made based on a deposition he had given at Younceâs request, he said.
Gillum said he didnât make the initial allegations â that heâd just answered questions truthfully at the deposition.
âI didnât volunteer any information,â he said. âI donât have a dog in the fight ... Hicksâs comments did not affect my decision on bringing the boys back to Greenup County.â
The charges also claim Hicks asked Robinson to transfer to Greenup County when he was a student at another high school. The charges indicate Hicks filed a complaint to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, claiming Robinson had been recruited by Russell, but withdrew the complaint after being informed Robinsonâs mother had 24 to 26 calls from Hicks to the Robinson residence.
Only part of the allegation regarding her son is true, said Austin Robinsonâs mother, Lisa Robinson.
âHe never asked him to go to Greenup. The only thing he did was ask him to come to open gym,â she said.
Lisa Robinson refused to comment on the phone record allegations and declined further comment on the matter, saying she doesnât want the controversy to mar her sonâs senior year.
Hicks is also charged with making inquiries about Campbellâs ability to transfer to Greenup County, inviting Thomas to play in Greenup Countyâs open gym and being present when the Indianapolis player â who was enrolled at another school â was shooting in the Greenup County gymnasium.
The report indicates Hicks told Smith and others Crawford was a âhit manâ who was conducting a âwitch hunt.â
Hicks said he hadnât recruited any players and the KHSAA had investigated and found the Gillum boys eligible. He declined further comment on advice of his attorney.
Hicksâ suspension for 10 working days came just prior to Greenup Countyâs participation in the Town Square Holiday Tournament at Boyd County. Because school was not in session, the suspension ran through Jan. 16.
At the conclusion of that suspension, Younce added another 15 working days to the suspension because he said he needed more time to resolve the matter. Hicksâ suspension now runs through Feb. 6.
The internal investigation, which has been ongoing for about three months, came about five months after Hicks filed a complaint against the district with the Office of Civil Rights, a division of the U.S. Department of Education.
A DOE spokesman indicated the complaint claimed the district retaliated against the complainant (Hicks) because of a 2005 inquiry to the Office of Civil Rights.
The original Office of Civil Rights inquiry involved allegations of racial discrimination and arose from complaints by a counselor at Greenup County High School and the parent of a student there.
That complaint alleged former principal Randall Peffer had used racially derogatory remarks, discriminated with regard to racially offensive clothing, limited playing time of black players in basketball games and graded the portfolios of black students more stringently than those of white students.
The report issued at the conclusion of that inquiry cleared Peffer of the allegations, but indicated he had been disciplined for using a racially offensive remark.
In documents obtained by The Independent dated Dec. 21, 2006, that inform Hicks of his original 10-day suspension, Greenup County Schools Superintendent John F. Younce outlines charges against Hicks that came as a result of Crawfordâs investigation.
Hicks, who verified the documents are authentic, denied the charges.
The coachâs involvement with several players was reviewed. The players listed in the charges are former Maryland high school player Saihou Jassey, former Greenup County players Zach Gillum and Cody Gillum, current Russell player Austin Robinson, current Ashland player Matt Thomas, current South Webster (Ohio) player Josh Campbell and an unidentified student from Indianapolis.
âAfter conducting a lengthy investigation, I am charging you with insubordination, conducting (sic) unbecoming a teacher and neglect of duty pursuant to KRS 161.790,â Younce wrote.
The report also indicates Hicks attempted to fire assistant basketball coach Jason Smith, but Younce said Hicks did not have the legal authority to do so.
âYou attempted to usurp my authority as Superintendent on December 20, 2006, and attempted to terminate the services of Jason Smith, Assistant Boysâ Basketball Coach,â Younce wrote. âUnder Kentucky law, only the superintendent has the authority (to) make personnel decisions, including the decision to terminate school staff.â
Whether Hicks attempted to fire Smith because of his participation in the internal investigation is unclear.
Smith couldnât be reached for comment Sunday.
Younce also claims Hicks asked the booster club treasurer for $400 to help offset tuition costs for Jassey at Rose Hill Christian that were being paid by the booster club president. Younce claims Hicks was given $400 from the booster club funds before they were deposited in the clubâs bank account.
Jassey played in summer games for Greenup County in the summer of 2004 when he was not enrolled as a student, according to the documents. Jassey never played for the Musketeers during a regular season and actually finished his senior year at Rose Hill. He also never played for the Royals.
According to the charges, Roger Gillum, father of Zach and Cody Gillum and the current Greenup County golf coach, was asked by Hicks to transfer his sons to Greenup County from Rose Hill. The charges claim Hicks promised Zach Gillum 25 shots a game and that Cody Gillum would start.
Reached by telephone Sunday, Gillum confirmed the charges.
The charges regarding his sons were made based on a deposition he had given at Younceâs request, he said.
Gillum said he didnât make the initial allegations â that heâd just answered questions truthfully at the deposition.
âI didnât volunteer any information,â he said. âI donât have a dog in the fight ... Hicksâs comments did not affect my decision on bringing the boys back to Greenup County.â
The charges also claim Hicks asked Robinson to transfer to Greenup County when he was a student at another high school. The charges indicate Hicks filed a complaint to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, claiming Robinson had been recruited by Russell, but withdrew the complaint after being informed Robinsonâs mother had 24 to 26 calls from Hicks to the Robinson residence.
Only part of the allegation regarding her son is true, said Austin Robinsonâs mother, Lisa Robinson.
âHe never asked him to go to Greenup. The only thing he did was ask him to come to open gym,â she said.
Lisa Robinson refused to comment on the phone record allegations and declined further comment on the matter, saying she doesnât want the controversy to mar her sonâs senior year.
Hicks is also charged with making inquiries about Campbellâs ability to transfer to Greenup County, inviting Thomas to play in Greenup Countyâs open gym and being present when the Indianapolis player â who was enrolled at another school â was shooting in the Greenup County gymnasium.
The report indicates Hicks told Smith and others Crawford was a âhit manâ who was conducting a âwitch hunt.â
Hicks said he hadnât recruited any players and the KHSAA had investigated and found the Gillum boys eligible. He declined further comment on advice of his attorney.
Hicksâ suspension for 10 working days came just prior to Greenup Countyâs participation in the Town Square Holiday Tournament at Boyd County. Because school was not in session, the suspension ran through Jan. 16.
At the conclusion of that suspension, Younce added another 15 working days to the suspension because he said he needed more time to resolve the matter. Hicksâ suspension now runs through Feb. 6.
The internal investigation, which has been ongoing for about three months, came about five months after Hicks filed a complaint against the district with the Office of Civil Rights, a division of the U.S. Department of Education.
A DOE spokesman indicated the complaint claimed the district retaliated against the complainant (Hicks) because of a 2005 inquiry to the Office of Civil Rights.
The original Office of Civil Rights inquiry involved allegations of racial discrimination and arose from complaints by a counselor at Greenup County High School and the parent of a student there.
That complaint alleged former principal Randall Peffer had used racially derogatory remarks, discriminated with regard to racially offensive clothing, limited playing time of black players in basketball games and graded the portfolios of black students more stringently than those of white students.
The report issued at the conclusion of that inquiry cleared Peffer of the allegations, but indicated he had been disciplined for using a racially offensive remark.
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01-22-2007, 02:53 PM
Greenup Co Schools and the people of rural Greenup Co are responsible for their own demise in my opinion.
They lost a great person and a great coach in TJ Maynard largely due in part to a lack of support for his program.
Why put a guy like this in charge of their basketball program?
Then to top it off when wrongdoing is reported, rather than stand up for the reputation of their school and their community, some (not all of them) enlist support for an individual who is apparently the worst kind of coach. And threatens to tarnish the reputation of the entire community.
High school and college is supposed to be about education first! Athletics are a privilege and some coaches and administrators have forgotten this over the years. Greenup used to be a great school system, but nothing but bad news comes out of Lloyd these days.
As a Russell fan I hate to see the nearest County school in this type of situation.
All former Musketeers need to muster up a meeting to get Greenup County back on track where it should have been all along.
They lost a great person and a great coach in TJ Maynard largely due in part to a lack of support for his program.
Why put a guy like this in charge of their basketball program?
Then to top it off when wrongdoing is reported, rather than stand up for the reputation of their school and their community, some (not all of them) enlist support for an individual who is apparently the worst kind of coach. And threatens to tarnish the reputation of the entire community.
High school and college is supposed to be about education first! Athletics are a privilege and some coaches and administrators have forgotten this over the years. Greenup used to be a great school system, but nothing but bad news comes out of Lloyd these days.
As a Russell fan I hate to see the nearest County school in this type of situation.
All former Musketeers need to muster up a meeting to get Greenup County back on track where it should have been all along.
01-23-2007, 11:02 AM
It's harder to recruit in Greenup than it is in Scott County!!!! At what price do you want to have a successful team? I realize Owsley County's program has gone down over the last few years but I would rather struggle than have Hicks back in Booneville. This guy is not all there. Go ask Uncle Billy for a job in Georgetown.
01-23-2007, 11:03 AM
Bring back the "LITTLE GENERAL" so he can take his team to Hooters again!
01-24-2007, 11:11 PM
Mr. Baseball Wrote:Bring back the "LITTLE GENERAL" so he can take his team to Hooters again!
Hooter have a mighty fine wing.
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