Roy Exum
It came as little surprise that Neal Pinkston, our district attorney general, allowed Jesse Nayadley to accept a pretrial diversion in Judge Tom Greenholtz’s courtroom earlier this week. Nayadley, the now-suspended athletic director at Ooltewah High School, was charged with failure to report a gruesome hazing incident to the state’s Department of Children’s Services after an Ooltewah basketball player was raped by his own teammates in December.
In truth, the whole reporting process was botched but, as we all know by now, the outcome was also fuzzy; who should have called? Basketball Coach Andre Montgomery? Arresting officer Rodney Burns of the Gatlinburg Police Department? School Principal Jim Jarvis? Obviously Pinkston found fault with Nayadley’s charge and the sentence of 10 hours of community service was a slap on the wrist for what was, in fact, a misdemeanor.
Dozens of people, myself included, learned of the worst crime in the history of Chattanooga prep sports long before the state’s Department of Children’s Services was officially notified.
Worse, had not an alert and appalled UT Hospital emergency room official reported the injuries and impending emergency surgery to Knoxville Police, which soon triggered a faxed police report from one old media friend to another, there is a distinct likelihood the whole catastrophe may well have been swept under the Hamilton County Department of Education’s already quite-lumpy rug. (Remember? It took then-Superintendent Rick Smith a full three weeks to even acknowledge the travesty.)
So now there is a bigger question. With Nayadley’s record to be expunged in 90 days, should he be reinstated as assistant principal and athletic director at Ooltewah? There is an overwhelming belief that Nayadley “adopted an atmosphere of hazing” since he arrived at the now-embarrassed high school. Actually, there is evidence the hazing and bullying began when Jim Jarvis – now the soon-to-retire principal at Ooltewah – was an assistant coach at the high school some years ago. (Don’t worry; when Jarvis reads the DA/Sheriff’s report, he will most certainly retire.)
In the next few weeks the jolting and often-searing results of a joint investigation into Ooltewah’s “culture of hazing,” as well as other schools in the Hamilton County district, will be revealed by General Pinkston and Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond. It alone will give ample credence that Jesse Nayadley should never be allowed to oversee athletes, not to mention students of any age, ever again.
The only way Hamilton County schools will ever eradicate hazing and bullying is to take the harshest stance against it that this community possibly can. From this minute forth, bullying and hazing in our schools must be stopped with all the discipline and vigor we can muster. I can only imagine the public outcry if Superintendent Kirk Kelly, with or without the school board’s approval, were to reinstate Jesse Nayadley into the county’s Department of Education system.
Some will say Nayadley was exonerated by a criminal court, with neither a guilty or innocent plea, yet I claim this is not true because the 10 hours of community service is, for all practical purposes, a penalty levied by the court. After Nayadley, basketball coach Tank Montgomery, and volunteer assistant Karl Williams were suspended without pay after a Juvenile Court appearance, there was a response Nayaldey – and Montgomery if he beats a grand jury call --might get their back pay. Don’t cash the check until the investigation finding – it will be a net zero on both accounts.
The indisputable truth: Ooltewah Middle and High School demand a total transformation. The teachers know it, the parents know it, and the students know it. It must be weeded, watered and once again allowed to bloom but, due to the scope of the investigation, it will take time for a soon-to-be-sickened Ooltewah community to heal itself. Both schools must have completely new and dedicated administrations. After what has transpired, Ooltewah’s children must never fear again.
Such healing and forgiveness will never take place without a very visible and very dedicated group of administrators who will eliminate the horrors that have been shared by Ooltewah parents and students since the rape drew a national spotlight to that which was well-reflected by the international media.
When the lawsuit begins by the family of the child whose colon, bladder and prostate gland were grievously ruptured by the pool cue stick, the HCDE must be able to clearly show, and prove to not just a a jury but to the doubting public as well, that the system’s administration has taken every step to assure such an incident will never happen again at Ooltewah High School or in Hamilton County proper. If Nayadley is reinstated with back pay, I can guarantee disbelief and laughter from any jury that ever sat.
Again, the word around the justice center is that the hazing investigation is said to be “damning.” Unfortunately, as many of my personal emails attest, the hazing and bullying are now being seen in every Hamilton County school. That Ooltewah is indeed the epicenter cannot help but reflect on Jesse Nayadley who, in his dual role as assistant principal and athletic director, must bear the responsibility for the entire school and every sport where bullying and hazing has occurred. It will clearly show that Nayadley clearly failed dozens of children, including his very own, with Principal Jarvis knowing it.
Wish Jesse Nayadley well with whatever he does with the rest of his life but a very determined and unified stand against any and all educators who allow hazing and bullying must start right now. And the Hamilton County Department of Education, hardly known for its discipline on any level, must fight this tragedy as hard and as mercilessly as any cancer that has ever infested itself in our school system.
Principals, faculty, parents, students and especially athletes should have no doubt what will happen at the first twinkling of a hazing and bullying incident. You will never be allowed to come back. Never.
royexum@aol.com