Travis Dockery
389 Country
The fallout from the Smoky Mountain Conference championships held in Hayesville continues, but the follow-up has nothing to do with basketball. In the hours following Cherokee's win over Hayesville in the championship game, photos began to circulate on social media showing two women on the home side of the gym making obscene hand gestures toward the visitors side.
Emotions ran high throughout the game, with one fan seated on the visitor's side of the gym being ejected at halftime, a brawl on the court between a Hayesville player and a Cherokee player, and another technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct called on Cherokee later in the game.
One of the women was identified as Hayesville Primary School Teacher Annie Brooks. The first grade teacher verified she was indeed one of the women in the photo in a statement to Facebook, which was later deleted.
Annie Brooks:
"I wanted to make a post to send out my deepest and sincerest apology for the actions that took place in the photo I’m sure most have already seen. I am not proud or happy with the way I acted after the SMC tournament championship game. I also want to apologize to whomever I offended from my actions.
I also wanted to say that I love my school, the people I work with, and my kiddos. Anyone who knows me knows I am passionate about the children I teach and my job. They mean the world to me and they know that I would do anything for them.
Lastly, I want to say, as a Christian I most definitely should not have done what I did. But there is nothing I can do to go back and change it. I am human and we have all made mistakes that we wish we could go back and fix. All I can do is learn from my mistake and move on and work on bettering myself from this point forward.
Again, I am deeply sorry for my actions. I love you all and thank you for taking the time to read this."
On Monday, Feb. 24, at the regular monthly meeting, the Clay County School Board went into closed session. Following the meeting, Clay County Schools released the following statement.
"The Clay County Board of Education met this evening at our monthly board meeting, at which time we had the opportunity to discuss the recent events that transpired over the weekend.
Clay County Schools is committed to providing a safe, fun, and respectful environment for our athletes, coaches, and fans. Competitive sports can bring out strong emotions, and that’s exactly what we saw during the SMC Conference Tournament. While passion and enthusiasm are a great part of the game, it is our expectation that our fans, players, and community uphold an atmosphere of respect and sportsmanship at all times.
We are aware of images that display some of our fans being inappropriate during Saturday night’s tournament game. This behavior does not reflect the values of our school system or community and we deeply regret this happened. This behavior will not be tolerated. To that end, anytime there is a report of inappropriate behavior from the stands, such as this one, we actively investigate the concern, collaborate with other school administrators if needed, and put measures in place to address poor behavior to ensure that all athletic events remain positive experiences for everyone involved and that the talents and accomplishments of student athletes remain front and center.
Although there may be information out there on the contrary, we have been in constant communication with the Cherokee Central Superintendent, Cherokee Central High School Principal and Athletic Director since Saturday evening and relayed our commitment to addressing this issue.
Moving forward, we will continue to emphasize the importance of sportsmanship and respectful conduct so that all students and fans can enjoy high-quality athletic events in a positive environment, while supporting the incredible student athletes of Hayesville High School and other surrounding schools."
Superintendent Melissa Godfrey and the Clay County Board of Education
The other woman in the photo, identified as April Krieger, has a daughter on Hayesville's team and is not an employee of Clay County Schools.
On Monday, 389 Country reached out to Godfrey for further comments on the situation. The superintendent responded with, "Clay County Schools is committed to providing a safe, welcoming, fun, and respectful environment at our sporting events for our home and visiting athletes, coaches, and fans. Regrettably, we know that two of our fans, one of them a school employee, fell short of our expectations of good sportsmanship by displaying inappropriate hand gestures while Cherokee’s championship photo was taken. This behavior does not reflect the values of our school system or community, and we deeply regret it. This behavior will not be tolerated, and restrictions have been placed on these individuals' participation in future athletic events. The school employee, on her own, issued a public apology on social media. Beyond that, personnel actions regarding the employee involved are confidential and cannot be discussed per state law and board policy. "
Godfrey continued, "We have been in ongoing conversations with Cherokee Central Schools since Saturday evening and are committed to working together to move forward as productively as possible and ensure all displays of poor sportsmanship, from either side, are addressed."
The superintendent also made it clear that proposed restrictions or any other disciplinary action could not be made public following the School Board meeting on Monday night, due to first having to meet with the individuals.