Vandy should lift its shield of secrecy, give public answers

The ax fell again this week at Vandebilt Catholic High School.

This time, it’s the school’s boys’ basketball coach that is being replaced.

Multiple players within the program confirmed this week to the Tri-Parish Times that Hank Washington is being replaced as the team’s basketball coach.

Neither Washington, nor school officials offered reasons for the dismissal.

Washington declined comment. The school didn’t return multiple calls made inquiring about Washington.

But players have confirmed that officials at the school have told them that they will have a new coach next season.

If accurate, this marks what is becoming a continuing trend in the school’s athletics department.

That trend involves major decisions being made about the future of the department. But the circumstances behind each individual case are being entirely withheld from the public amidst a tight-lipped internal gag order that is leaving the community wondering what this all is really about.

Instead of finality and clarity with each decision, confusion ensues.

In south Louisiana, confusion quickly turns into what we have now – gossip, rumors and hundreds of speculation-filled stories filled with half-truths, partial truths and white lies.

It started with the way Vandebilt handled its situation with the girls’ basketball team.

The Lady Terriers were dismissed from the playoffs in late February because of the way the school handled a transfer student’s eligibility.

Most loyal readers and local sports fans know the story, so here are the Cliff Notes for those who don’t.

The school had been playing an ineligible player (for two years) because she was not instructed to sit out her eighth grade year after transferring to the school.

Once deemed ineligible, the player’s family challenged the ruling in court and initially won.

But less than 30 minutes before tip-off in the team’s scheduled semifinals game, the ruling was reversed and the team was kicked out of the playoffs.

No one within the school offered comment throughout the duration of the week of chaos.

Weeks later, the school parted ways with longtime coach Kathy Luke.

No specifics were offered regarding the decision.

It isn’t even clear whether Luke was dismissed or if she resigned from her position willingly.

But sometimes silence speaks louder than words, and the truth about the situation is that there’s been a divide between Luke and administration for a long time.

Toward the back-half of the 2012-13 season, top athletic department officials stopped attending the team’s games because they did not support Luke, nor her methods.

Sources close to the school’s administration claim that the situation spilled over and became unfixable when Luke’s husband Jay Luke represented the ineligible player in her court proceedings against the LHSAA.

The school would have preferred to accept the LHSAA’s initial ruling to bow out of the playoffs.

But the truth is that no one truly knows exactly what did or didn’t happen, because no one has spoken on the record about the topic.

It’s been more than two months.

The public has a right to know.

In addition to girls’ basketball, the school is also trying to find a new volleyball coach after they parted ways with coach Latashia Wise, who led the team to the semifinals in each of her two seasons in control of the program.

Like with Luke, no explanations have been given for that decision.

One could assume the decision isn’t performance-based because of the team’s success in recent years.

So if it’s not performance, what is it?

If there’s something wrong with the individuals, the public has a right to know.

If there’s not, then please tell us why are they being replaced?

And then now, there’s Washington, who is being replaced amidst the same secrecy, despite winning three-straight district championships.

Like with the two coaches above, Washington’s resume yields that he’s been competitive.

So if not a performance-based decision, doesn’t the community have a right to know why these decisions are being made?

We all deserve answers and clarity regarding everything going on within the school’s athletics department.

I’m not in the room when these decisions are made.

I have no idea whether any of the above personnel moves are warranted or unjustified.

I’m not here challenging the decisions made by the school’s athletics department. Vandebilt is a fine school – among the best in our area. Their success speaks for itself. Athletic Director Laury Dupont is an unbelievable coach, and a fine person. He’s always been honest and forthright with any inquiry I’ve had involving the school in my more than three years with the Tri-Parish Times.

But when dealing with a topic that is the peak of public interest like sports, people have a right to know, and the school is doing everyone a disservice by not speaking up.

These individuals being replaced are like a second set of parents for the children they coach.

If any of the above committed a fireable offense, the community needs to know.

Making a commitment to silence just opens up a firestorm of rumors, which makes this entire situation unfair to all of the parties involved.