Ooltewah High School head basketball coach Andrew “Tank” Montgomery has his hands full not only with his team but now with the rape and assault charges leveled at three of his now-dismissed players.A Chattanooga attorney representing Ooltewah High School basketball coach Andre Montgomery said the actions of three team members should not diminish Montgomery’s reputation or his contributions to the school.
Montgomery’s attorney Curtis L. Bowe III, emailed a statement to the Times Free Press on Sunday night in which he said Montgomery is not responsible for the alleged actions of the players who were arrested and charged with aggravated rape and aggravated assault of a younger teammate during the team’s trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn.
“There is a plethora of speculation and vilification, based on inaccurate reporting of the central events,” Bowe wrote in the statement. ” The justice system will resolve our community’s injured player’s issues, not public sentiment.”
The assault took place just days before Christmas while the team was staying at a rented cabin and playing in the Smoky Mountain Classic basketball tournament. The attack and arrests claimed international headlines.
The statement, released Sunday, said the actions of the boys charged in the assault are inconsistent with what Montgomery knows of them in the classroom and the athletic arena.