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District releases results of Arnold football probe // READ THE REPORT
PANAMA CITY — An independent investigation into the football program at Arnold High School has unveiled a number of troubling and serious allegations.
John Haley, Bay District Schools’ executive director of operational support services, on Friday addressed the findings of the investigation, which uncovered numerous accusations of free gifts provided to football players and a failure to provide some student-athletes with the essential core classes necessary to graduate.
Benefits allegedly provided to players included gift cards to area restaurants, spending money, transportation and living arrangements.
Haley said the school district contacted the Florida High School Athletic Association about a month ago — “There was something that drew our concern,” he said — and Haley said the FHSAA suggested the district bring in an independent investigator. That led to the district reaching out to Vern Eppinette, a member of the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. A former compliance officer with the FHSAA, Eppinette coached Port St. Joe to five state championships in boys basketball from 1990-2001.
“They have individuals who are specifically skilled and groomed to address the specific concerns regarding athletics,” Haley said when asked if the FHSAA is better equipped than the district to handle an investigation of the athletic programs throughout the district.
Haley was a principal at Arnold from 2005-2009 before accepting his current position at Bay District Schools. He said if the investigation “finds anything we deem improper and inappropriate,” Arnold officials will be given a chance to accept or deny those findings. Punitive measures, if any, then would be determined, Haley said. There is no timetable to reach a conclusion, Haley added.
Arnold principal Keith Bland said he welcomed the investigation and added that school officials have not been given an opportunity for a rebuttal.
Eppinette, in a report dated Jan. 31 but released Friday afternoon, sat down with Arnold head football coach James Hale and his wife, Arnold athletic director Julie Hale, on Jan. 30 to discuss various allegations. During that discussion, Eppinette wrote, James Hale acknowledged he had given players gift cards to Montego Bay, a restaurant with two locations in Panama City Beach.
“Coach Hale admitted to giving these cards to football players for work well done,” Eppinette wrote. “When asked if these cards were given directly to him or if they went through the high school offices, he said they were given to him personally. I informed him, that in my opinion, (this) was not appropriate, that these cards should go through the front office and be made available to all students and not just those who played football. (Arnold) principal Keith Bland said he, too, was given cards and that he gave them to students as well. My advice was for them to call FHSAA and get their thoughts.”
Eppinette also investigated an allegation that two Arnold football players were sharing an apartment on the beach. Those players’ names were redacted from the report.
“Ms. Hale responded by saying that she had looked into the situation and found that when (redacted name)’s family moved out, that (redacted name)’s moved in,” the report said. “I told her that in all my years as an athletic director that if anything approaching this, given that these were the two best players on the team and that both had originally lived in Panama City, should have signaled a real problem.”
Along with the report, Bay District Schools released signed statements levying serious allegations. One letter, written by a parent whose name was redacted, said Arnold officials failed to provide her son with necessary academic core classes.
“My son is a junior without a science class or a foreign language and that’s unheard of and inexcusable,” the letter said.
Another letter, written by a former player whose name also was redacted, said he received spending cash, money to pay cellphone bills, gift cards to Montego Bay and transportation to school by an assistant coach. The player also said he was placed in multiple physical education classes rather than essential core classes.
“My 10th-grade year they gave me two more physical education classes,” the letter said. “I didn’t take science my 9th- or 10th-grade year out there. I was out there to play football. I didn’t like how they did me as a person and as a student-athlete.”
An earlier version of this story is posted below:
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Bay District Schools has released the results of an investigation into Arnold High School's sports program, and the district was holding a press conference Friday afternoon to address the results.
The investigation regarded allegations of students receiving gift cards from coaches, students being transported from Panama City to Panama City Beach, transportation and living arrangements being made for students in the Arnold football program, and recruiting practices by several of the coaches.
Check back soon for more details, a copy of the investigation results and full coverage in Saturday's News Herald
