FLORENCE, Ky. — Parents, former athletes and current players came out to the Boone County School Board meeting Thursday in support of beloved Cooper High School boys basketball coach Tim Sullivan after it was announced his contract would not be renewed next season.
“It’s a person that I needed to be around and needed to be coached by,” said Austin Alexander, a former player.
During Thursday night’s public comment, things got heated between the board and community members in the crowd.
As Durran Alexander, Austin’s father, spoke about saving Sullivan’s position, school board chairman Jesse Parks interrupted him.
“Mr. Alexander, I feel like we’re talking about a specific person,” said Parks. “The board can not legally discuss specific employees, this includes personnel matters which you are currently attempting to discuss.”
WATCH: Parents and students rally to keep Cooper High School coach
Parks said that under Kentucky statute, discussions about specific employees of the district or specific students are prohibited in front of the board.
This led to parents and students yelling at the board and asking them to listen to their concerns and think of the students — some even mentioning that the board works for them and that they are elected officials.
Sullivan has been the basketball coach at Cooper High School since it opened in 2008. Many in attendance Thursday called him the most “legendary” coach in the area, and an even better person.
“I can’t explain and put into words how great of a coach he is, and how good of a man and person he is,” said current Cooper High senior and basketball player Jordan Hampton.
That’s why many were in shock when they heard that Sullivan was given the choice to either resign or not have his contract renewed after this season.
Sullivan’s wife, Andrea Sullivan, made a public Facebook post on March 3 addressing the news. In the post, she said the principal and athletic director’s reasoning for letting him go was that “he didn't have a sense of urgency to improve the culture of the program.”
We asked Hampton, a current player, how he felt about the team’s culture.
“We are all brothers, I don’t look at my teammates over here as teammates,” said Hampton. “They’re not my friends, they’re my brothers, and that’s the culture he’s built.”
A handful of parents at Thursday's school board meeting also spoke up in support of Coach Sullivan without directly mentioning him, stating that the team is truly a family that has helped their sons through challenging times.
There is also an online petition to keep Sullivan with over 3,000 signatures as of Thursday.
“He’s just instilled some of the greatest um qualities that I’ve had to grow in — becoming a leader, becoming an athlete,” said Alexander.
Sullivan’s wife's Facebook post also stated that they have hired an attorney and requested to meet with the superintendent but have been shot down.
We reached out to Boone County Schools asking what led them to this decision, and if they are reconsidering given how many in the community are rallying around Sullivan. They told us since it is a personnel matter they will not comment.
