Ooltewah basketball coach reassigned based on new facts

Rick Smith and Tank Montgomery
Rick Smith and Tank Montgomery

Ooltewah basketball coach Andre Montgomery has been reassigned to another area of the district, according to Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith.

Montgomery was coach at the time when a group of older players allegedly raped and assaulted a younger teammate during a trip to Sevierville, sending the youth to the hospital with life threatening injuries.

Smith said he he made the decision earlier today based on additional facts he learned. Smith did not specify the facts to which he was referring.

photo Rick Smith and Tank Montgomery

The Times Free Press reported today that Ooltewah's team verbally harassed opponents on the day of the assault.

The coach is currently not in a teaching role. "He is not being punished or penalized, he was transferred," Smith said.

Smith added that he may come to a point where Ooltewah High School needs a change in administration.

Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond and Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston also offered perspectives today on the attack, noting that investigators were working to determine whether any criminal activity took place in Hamilton County.

Hammond said that his investigation has been made more difficult because the boys are juveniles and because the alleged crimes involved two different counties.

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