Why Russell Co. football coach sued school board after speaking out about COVID-19 safety
Russell County head football coach Mark Rose sued the school district’s Board of Education members, including Superintendent Brenda Coley, in an attempt to prevent his termination as a coach, according to federal and local court documents obtained by the Ledger-Enquirer.
Court documents show Rose in early September raised a claim under the First Amendment, as well as claims under Alabama law, and sought a temporary restraining order to prohibit the Russell County School District’s firing him “in retaliation for his speech about the inadequate protection of high school football players and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The lawsuit initially was filed in Russell County Circuit Court, before being dismissed and moved to the federal level.
The lawsuit said Rose was given two disciplinary letters on Aug. 31 and informed he would be terminated as head football coach. He alleged the two letters were given “in direct retaliation for Coach Rose speaking out to the media about AHSAA’s failure to adequately protect the safety of high school football players and failure to implement testing for the players.”
Rose alleged the defendants were violating his First Amendment rights to speak about matters of public concern.
The claim was moved to federal court, where Rose sought to dismiss his federal claim without prejudice and remand the case to the Circuit Court of Russell County — meaning he can take it back to the county court if he so chooses.
In October, before refusing to coach a football game against Sydney Lanier, Rose emailed Coley and Russell County High School Principal Tonya Keene, with three scenarios: They could allow him to remain head coach but not be on the sideline at games; allow him to step down as head coach but remain a coach who does not attend games; or accept the email as his resignation as head football coach.
Rose told the Ledger-Enquirer in a text exchange that he is currently a teacher and athletic director at the school.
“No comment at this time, but more coming,” Rose said in the text. As of Wednesday morning, representatives from the Alabama Education Association, whose lawyers are representing Rose, have not responded to phone calls.
Coley has not responded to Ledger-Enquirer requests for comment.
Read the full copy of the lawsuit below:
A vocal opponent of football during the pandemic
Rose has been a harsh critic of playing high school football during the coronavirus pandemic. He even had a column about him published in the Washington Post.
Rose, who played football for Pat Dye at Auburn University and has coached high school football for more than 20 years, called it “child exploitation” in an interview with NPR.
He told NPR that an asymptomatic outbreak within the Warriors locker room landed a 33-year-old assistant coach in ICU for nearly two weeks. One player’s mother was also infected, he said.
Rose told NPR that he cannot protect his players because of a lack of COVID-19 testing.
There is no policy in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s COVID-19 protocols for testing football players.
