Rush Propst's statement, provided to AL.

com on April 5,
2019, via email:
I continue to be overwhelmed by the many kind words of support and encouragement that
I have received from the Colquitt County community. It has been a true blessing to me and
my family as we sort through this inexcusable attempt to smear me, my career, and my
service to the students and families of Colquitt County.

I am also grateful to those in the community that have simply kept an open mind. I greatly
regret how this situation has been used by some to divide this wonderful community. The
people of Colquitt County deserve much better from their educational leaders than what
they have had to endure in this situation. I certainly know this from my personal
experience. Please do not let these ridiculous actions by Superintendent Howell divide our
community.

Approximately two-weeks ago, I stated that I looked forward to addressing the many false
and misleading allegations made about me by Mr. Howell. That is exactly what I intend to
do in this statement.

First, I still believe this entire process has been unfair to me. Mr. Howell engineered an
investigation to support his pre-determined conclusion that would result in my
termination. I was never interviewed by Mr. Howell and didn’t learn of the allegations,
despite requests, until I read them in the newspaper. The allegations by Mr. Howell were
misleading half-truths meant to damage my reputation in order to justify dismissing me as
head coach from one of the most successful and highly regarded high school football
programs in the nation. He was certainly reckless in the way he chose to do this.

I was hired by the school system in 2008 with the express direction to restore and rebuild
Colquitt County football. In the years since, with the help of dozens of assistant coaches and
hundreds of players, I have consistently worked to do just that. Over the years, my requests
for better equipment, facilities, nutrition programs, and medical support have been
consistent. With the support of past principals, superintendents, and school board
members, these improvements were made and resulted in a winning program.

One of the allegations made against me by Mr. Howell seems to involve his somewhat odd
and unhealthy interest in my personal finances which have nothing to do with my
performance as football coach. I will be the first to admit that I have struggled financially.
Also, I know that I have too often allowed my obsession over our football program to leave
me neglecting regular day to day obligations. Like many people, my family obligations and
other life choices mean I have personal debts, including owing back taxes. At the end of the
day, I am honest about my debts, and I work every day to repay my obligations.

The truth is that I informed Mr. Howell about my tax issues. Stefnie and I are working on
them, and I want to assure everyone that the dollar amounts cited by Mr. Howell are
massively inflated. What I owe and what is claimed are two different amounts. I do not
know why he chose to misrepresent my personal finances other than to smear me
personally.

Mr. Howell also suggested that I attempted to interfere in the hiring of Principal Jamie
Dixon. This is expressly and categorically false. During his interview process, Mr. Dixon
contacted me and requested we meet to discuss the school and its football program. I was
simply being courteous when I agreed to meet with him. I did not do so to interfere in any
formal selection process. Mr. Howell could have avoided making this false statement
against me, and embarrassing Mr. Dixon, if he had shown me the courtesy of discussing this
accusation before recklessly and falsely including it in his report.

Additionally, Mr. Howell made a broad and sweeping series of disconnected accusations
regarding my general coaching abilities, the discipline and morale of the players and
coaches, my recommendation to hotel the team on the night before games, and my decision
to coach students on their individual athletic abilities and how they might best obtain a
college scholarship.

I will begin by being less than modest. I have been blessed to be a very successful coach.
Together, we built one of the best and most highly regarded high school football programs
in the nation. Our team’s records speak for themselves. But I also know that coaching is a
lot more than playing and winning football games. I coach young kids, sometimes greatly
undisciplined kids, in football and life. Some of our kids come from very solid homes with
great parents, extensive support networks, and solid academic abilities. Some of our
players don’t have any of these advantages. And, helping them – guiding them – is one of
my greatest challenges and our greatest rewards.

Football is a game that challenges the discipline and composure of every student on the
team – even coaches. It requires great physical exertion, mental sharpness, and perfect
execution of physical and mental skills with a clock-ticking over their heads. It is easy for
any athlete – even coaches – to lose their composure in a game - especially, at the high
school level. As coaches, we help students stay focused and composed. But we are not
always successful. Every practice, every class, every game is a learning moment in
coaching.

I like to hotel my kids the night before every game because I want to know that they are
going to get a good meal. I can’t begin to thank all the people in our community who served
our team meals over the years. I want my players sleeping in a good bed the night before a
game. I want to know that they are in bed at a certain time. I want them to have discipline
in their lives before a game and remove outside distractions. I will not apologize for trying
to do the best for my kids. This is coaching. This is wanting to provide each of our kids the
opportunity to be successful. Mr. Howell decided none of the above mattered.

It has been reported to me that during my tenure as coach, our program created more
scholarship opportunities for players than for all past Colquitt County football teams
combined. I do know what colleges look for in a student athlete. I did coach a multi-sport
student athlete about focusing on football. I believed that student had the possibility of
being a High School All-American and getting a Division 1 football scholarship if he focused
on his football skills. I wanted that student to have his best shot at getting a scholarship and
going to college. What I did is called coaching. If I had not informed this young man of this
possibility, I would have done a great disservice to him. What I told this young man is that
he had a chance. A chance to get to be an All-American, to earn a full scholarship and play
football. He also had a choice. He could continue playing other sports and take a chance, or
focus on football and give himself the best odds to achieve his goal. That decision was the
player’s decision to make, not mine or Mr. Howell’s. The truth is that I encouraged all
student athletes to play other sports. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, we had 6 to 8 football
players play Varsity basketball or wrestle. I wanted them to be their best. I can’t count the
number of our football kids that played other sports at Colquitt County.

And, I worked to inspire my players and coaches. Every coach does. Sometimes you use
inspiration, sometimes you use directness and determination, and sometimes you use your
faith in them and their ability to do better. What I did is called coaching. I would not accept
anything less than their best and they did not expect anything less from me.

It is clear that Mr. Howell is using my coaching – which has been successful coaching – and
my caring for great, challenged and undisciplined kids as a battering ram for his reckless
accusations. It is to his shame that he was so petty and so willing to use any reckless
accusation and misleading rumors to remove me from coaching.

Yes, I missed time from school though usually, this was not during the season. Mr. Howell
knows full well I have endured health issues. If Mr. Howell had concerns with my schedule,
I would have thought he would have simply shared his concerns with me. Every other
superintendent and principal met with me on a recurring basis throughout the season and
school year to discuss the program, the student athletes, and to outline things I needed to
work on. I may not have always agreed with them, but I always appreciated their honesty.
Under Mr. Howell, I have never had monthly, quarterly, or even annual review meetings.

Concerning the alleged “fraud” of a request for reimbursement, Mr. Howell’s allegations are
wrong, and the documents he collected confirm the same. The truth, which he would have
learned if he had asked, is that Stef and I stayed at the Marriott Northwest at Galleria on the
night of December 1st. This is the same hotel the team has stayed at on numerous
occasions when playing in Atlanta. On the morning of December 2, I was required to be at a
7:30am GHSA meeting for all teams participating in the GHSA State Championship. Most
school systems pay for a coach’s hotel room the night before to keep the coach from having
to travel so early. This room was not supposed to be charged to the Colquitt County account
as I elected to stay at the Marriott out of convenience. Instead of charging to my personal
credit card, Marriott inadvertently added the night to the Colquitt County account. As
documents show, when the email regarding the account was sent, Colquitt County had an
outstanding balance on the team’s stay. I only learned later that Marriott had included my
stay on the team’s account. As soon as I learned of this issue, it was immediately resolved.
This could have been addressed in a simple meeting or phone call with Mr. Howell.
As for the allegation that I “lost control of” the “team and some of the coaches,” this simply
isn’t true. Everyone was upset after the Milton game. Yes, some of our kids went to the
locker room. But to assert that the entire team showed a lack of sportsmanship based on
the actions of a very limited number of very disappointed kids is simply wrong. I am proud
of the men I have worked with as assistant coaches over the years. We had one goal;
prepare the student athletes to be the best they could be. If Mr. Howell had honestly
witnessed the post-game or taken the time to watch the post-game video of the State
Championship game, he or anyone else would have seen me and a number of our players
and coaches on the field congratulating Milton and being interviewed.

There is one final accusation that I am unable to comment on at this time. Based on Mr.
Howell’s complaint, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission is investigating his
accusations concerning my dispensing a medication to students. Because of the ongoing
nature of the state investigation, I am not able to comment at this time. However, I will say
that I am very confident the evidence presented will demonstrate clearly that this
accusation by Mr. Howell is also a false, unfounded smear just like the other accusations I
have addressed in this statement.

We built a program of the highest quality that competed every year for state and even
national championships. I am very grateful to the people of Colquitt County for allowing me
to coach your children. It has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. The
confidence that you have given me is humbling. I only get to coach your children for a few
short years, but I try to give them lessons, examples and opportunities that last their entire
lives. I greatly appreciate your continuing confidence and support.

Mr. Howell’s March 15, 2019 letter to me confirmed that I would remain on paid leave
pending the outcome of the PSC investigation.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Coach Rush Propst