Supt. Rick Smith, left, with board member Greg Martin
A petition has been started on the website Change.org asking for the resignation of County School Supt. Rick Smith and Ooltewah High basketball coach Andre Montgomery.
The team's games had been canceled for this season after three players were charged in the rape of a 15-year-old teammate.
Supt. Smith said no adults were found to have committed any wrong-doing in the incident that happened at a rental cabin in Gatlinburg. The team continued to play games after the Dec. 22 incident.
The petition started by Tami Hess says:
On 12/22/15, a player on the Ooltewah High School basketball team was sexual assaulted with a pool cue while the team was in Gatlinburg TN at basketball tournaments. As a result, this player had to have major surgery and will be scarred for the rest of his life. The HCDE is refusing to hold any of the coaches (Mr. "Tank" Andre Montgomory), the coaching staff, or the adults who were with the team and at the cabin when this assault took place accountable. We are calling for the resignation of Mr. Rick Smith, HCDE Super and the head coach of the basketball team, Mr. "Tank" Andre Montgomery for failing to protect this child. This horrid incident was not even reported to the school board until well after the incident happened and the team CONTINUED to play in the tournaments! . Mr. Smith refuses to speak with parents about the concerns they have for their children and refuses to hold any of the adults responsible for scarring this poor child!
Coach Andre Montgomery