By Brad Durham

The judge determined that playing high school sports in Tennessee is a privilege, not a right. Since the judge ruled that none of Sable Winfree’s rights were violated, there was not a lack of due process. The judge ruled that it makes no difference if Winfree lost a college scholarship because of her dismissal from the high school team. This part of the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled or relitigated.

The judge questioned the defamation part of the lawsuit; specifically questioned what the f-word was and the harm it created. This part of the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, which means that Winfree can still choose to refile the lawsuit with more relevant evidence.

The court’s decision does not state nor imply that the school system was at not at fault for how the school system handled Sable Winfree’s dismissal from the high school basketball team. The decision simply means that there were no circumstances that warranted due process. 

Warren County Schools did not retain Mendy Stotts as a basketball coach, and Stotts is no longer employed by the school system. One can draw his/her own conclusions as to why Stotts is no longer employed in Warren County.

What has never been sufficiently answered publicly or privately is why Sable Winfree was dismissed from the team. Moreover, no public substantive explanation has been given by the Warren County Schools regarding the “dismissal” of Mendy Stotts as the girls high school basketball coach.

No consequences for the “bad” hire and tenure of Mendy Stotts as the girls head basketball coach. No consequences for the mistreatment of Sable Winfree by Mendy Stotts, head principal Chris Hobbs and the Director of Schools, Grant Swallows. A tragedy and a moral injustice without any consideration for Sable Winfree’s well-being and future.

My Present Thoughts about Coverage of the Lawsuit and Sable Winfree

I wrote the above comments on August 2, and to be honest, I was too busy to follow up on it. There was not a lack of concern on my part. Initially, I thought I had contributed everything I could as an advocate for Sable Winfree. Yet, this morning I read Jeffery Simmons column, “Court battles and peak pettiness,” and I became compelled to respond to it on my newsletter.

An image from the Wizard of Oz came to mind as I read Simmons’ column, the cowardly lion.  

Jeffery, it is not about you, and the lawsuit was not a joke! Stop blaming Sable Winfree for being kicked off the team by a lunatic coach.

Verbatim excerpts from Simmons’ August 16 column:

If there’s one court I wished to avoid being required to be, it was the Eastern District of the United States District Court for the possible Sable Winfree v. Warren County School District trial. It seems like I’ll be able to dodge that visit.

But when it comes to what I think, nothing has really changed from my original opinion 10 months ago, where I wrote, “What I don’t agree with, particularly in the growing social discussion, is that this is a very black and white issue where either Sable is right and the admin and coach are wrong or Sable is wrong and the coaching staff and admin did the right thing. Personally, I think the blame can go around.”

As I wrote back then, “Personally, I think everybody screwed up here, dating back to May (2023), and it feels like only one person – Sable – is having to pay for their mistakes.” 

When I read those comments, this is what I heard in my head: “IF I WAS THE KING OF THE FOREST…” – the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz.

There are more characters is this sad saga who share the cowardly lion persona. Todd Willmore who conducted an internal investigation for the Warren County Schools that was lame and incompetent. Chris Hobbs, who was unprofessional and shared inappropriate comments with parents. Robin Phillips who took the attack and defend the institution position with the school system against Sable Winfree. Grant Swallows, who had the opportunity to prevent the dismissal of Sable Winfree from the team and defended his underlings’ decisions. Last and not least, every member of the School Board stayed silent and refused to stand up for Sable Winfree.

Do good people act as cowards sometimes? Absolutely. We all do. Everyone had the opportunity to redeem themselves and correct their mistakes. None of the people mentioned did that. They all doubled down on their decisions, which lacked courage.

Guess who was not a coward! Sable Winfree. Sable immediately went on record stating what she thought about being dismissed from the team. You can read her thoughts here…https://bdnewsletter.news/2023/12/01/a-new-interview-with-sable-winfree/

I would like to acknowledge Michael Galligan’s fortitude and courageous behavior in becoming Sable Winfree’s attorney. A lawyer has to be brave in a small town to confront the only school system with a lawsuit. Mr. Galligan did this pro bono, and he deserves credit for covering Sable Winfree’s back. The deck was stacked against Sable, and Galligan defended her. He initially attempted to have her readmitted to the team, but Grant Swallows and others did not cooperate.

You know who admired Sable Winfree’s performance on the basketball court? Kyle Turnham. When I covered high school sports a few years ago, I made it a habit to ask every opposing coach about Sable Winfree. Turnham told me one night in the Shelbyville Central gym, when he was coaching the Shelbyville girls team, that Sable was the leader of the Lady Pioneers. He said the entire offense ran through her, and if you wanted to beat the Lady Pioneers, you had to stop Sable Winfree.

I became an advocate for Sable Winfree from the first night I saw her play basketball. She was shot out of a cannon as a freshman, and every opposing coach respected how she played. She made the Lady Pioneers better.

Sam Walker has written a book entitled, The Captain Class: The Hidden Force That Creates the World’s Greatest Teams. In the book, he states the following:

 “The most critical ingredient in a team that achieves and sustains historic greatness is the character of the player who leads it.”

Sable Winfree led the Lady Pioneers offense and helped establish the personality of the Lady Pioneers for three years. The Lady Pioneers became one of the top 10 teams in the state by her junior year. That is the way I wish to remember Sable Winfree’s basketball career in Warren County. 

Sable Winfree has a fearless heart. I am grateful that I got to see her play basketball.