BD Newsletter

By Brad Durham

       The sad truth is that if people in administrative positions at Warren County High School and the central office had performed their jobs properly, Sable Winfree would still be on the WCHS Lady Pioneer basketball team. The purpose of educational athletics (high school sports) is to use teamwork that contributes to a common goal. Ideally, coaches use sports to transform lives. 

       Joe Ehermann is an author and former professional football player. He has been a high school coach, and has spoken about the power of being a positive coach versus a negative, transactional coach who only focuses on his/her own agenda. The TSSAA worked with Ehrmann in conjunction with a grant from the NFL for approximately three years. His book, InSideOut COACHING has been used to inspire coaches. Ehermann described a coach in the book:

       An InSideOut coach resists the transactional impulse and asserts that the right way, indeed the only way, to coach young people is to seek to transform their sense of their own worth, talents and value.

       What could have been an educational and transformative experience for Sable Winfree became an unnecessary tragedy.

Cannot Write Everything That I Have Heard

There are many things that I have learned about Mendy Stotts and certain members of the administration that I have not reported in this newsletter. Some people do not want to go on the record because they do not want to deal with the complexities of being confrontational. Some people are afraid of retaliation by the head coach and members of the administration. Consequently, I cannot write everything I believe to be true involving the dismissal of Sable Winfree from the Warren County High School Lady Pioneer basketball team.

The First Administrative Mistake

       Based on what I have been told and learned, the first mistake was not properly vetting Mendy Stotts before she was hired. The hiring process at the high school involves the head principal, Chris Hobbs making a recommendation to Dr. Grant Swallows, who actually makes the hire. Todd Willmore was the athletic director when Stotts was hired. 

       Two factors make me wonder why Mendy Stotts was hired. One is a rumor that keeps swirling around McMinnville that Stotts exhibited some strange behavior after being dismissed from Anthony Lippe’s staff in 2019. The other factor is the number of parents who have complained about how Stotts treated their daughters at the middle school. The present administration has to know that several of those complaints have been echoed by parents at the high school. 

       I have heard from a parent who took a daughter out of the Warren County School system after Stotts was named head coach at WCHS. I believe there are other parents who made changes after Stotts was named head coach. Several high school parents met with Stotts before the season started to express concerns about her behavior toward their daughters. Several parents have also met with WCHS administrators to express their concerns during the season.

       As recently as last Monday, December 4, a principal went into the Lady Pioneers’ locker room after the loss to York. Allegedly, Stotts was screaming at players in the locker room. Stotts was not present afterwards for an interview that Jay Walker conducts on the radio. 

       Apparently, Mendy Stotts was not the first choice to become the new WCHS Lady Pioneer head coach this past spring. If that is true, maybe the administration believed that they had no other choice but to hire Stotts. How has that worked out for the Lady Pioneers?

Another Administrative Mistake

       A clear sign of the administration’s attempt to bury and whitewash the dismissal of Sable Winfree from the team is the investigation of a formal complaint. Soon after Sable Winfree’s dismissal, her mother filed a complaint against Mendy Stotts with the new Human Resource Director for Warren County, Todd Willmore. Conducting a professional investigation for a novice HR Director must be challenging. The report, whether by design or from a lack of training and experience, is not credible. 

       For example, Mr. Willmore reported, “We were unable to find any derogatory statements made by coach Stotts about Sable…” Was Chris Hobbs questioned during the investigation? Mr. Hobbs clearly heard coach Stotts make “unsubstantiated” derogatory statements about Sable during the meeting in which Sable was dismissed from the team.

Trying to Control the Narrative

       One school board member told a citizen to go complete a form and get on the December 4, school board agenda regarding Sable Winfree’s dismissal from the team. The citizen completed the form as suggested, and was kept off the agenda, allegedly by the Director of Schools. 

       The funny thing is that the day after the meeting, the Director of Schools, Dr. Grant Swallows called that citizen to discuss the dismissal of Sable Winfree. That citizen was in the school board meeting, but none of the school board members, the Director or school attorney chose to discuss the dismissal of Sable Winfree during the meeting. Yet, comments have been made outside of the board meeting.

Leaks from the Administration and Central Office Staff

       Meanwhile, what keeps leaking out of the high school and central office are comments such as these, “We cannot comment on the reasons Sable Winfree was dismissed from the team. We are trying to protect her. Some parents are happy she is not on the team. If we mentioned what she has done, she would never play basketball again.” These statements are either false or half-truths to deflect from the real issue – the administration is trying to support Mendy Stotts’ strange decision to dismiss Sable from the team.

An Abundance of Disregard for Sable Winfree

       Instead of working collectively to transform Sable Winfree’s sense of self-worth, talents and value, the people entrusted with the responsibility of mentoring Sable have trashed her reputation. The assault on Sable’s character is also an attempt to diminish her achievements as a high caliber basketball player. During the past three years, Sable was “Freshman of the Year” in the district and All-District her sophomore and junior years. 

       Mendy Stotts, Chris Hobbs, Todd Willmore and Dr. Grant Swallows all knew that Sable Winfree had been offered a college scholarship to play basketball. They also knew that Sable Winfree decided to stay at Warren County High School and not move to Sparta with her mother this summer. Everyone knew that Sable’s senior year was her year to play basketball and work to expand her college offers. Because of the mindless dismissal of Sable from the team, she has no college scholarships. 

       There are so many different ways the head coach could have handled her problems with Sable. Incredibly, Stotts is a school counselor at the high school. It is beyond comprehension that the coach, athletic directors, principals and Director of Schools could not have put all their brain power together to find a better solution for Sable Winfree and the Lady Pioneer basketball team, which is now 1-8.

Lack of Courage

       Someone inside the Warren County School System should have had the courage to stand up for Sable Winfree. Principals, athletic directors, school board members, coaches and the Director of Schools may have good hearts and an authentic desire to help students. Nonetheless, when the time came to stand up for Sable Winfree, they became deaf, dumb and blind. They failed her.