Former Grundy County High School head football coach Sherman “Casey” Tate must have no further contact with members of the football team, according to his suspension letter.
Five football players – a freshman, three juniors and a senior – are accused of attempting to rape a 15-year-old freshman teammate with the metal handle of a dust mop in the school’s football fieldhouse some time before 6 a.m. CDT on Oct 11.
In the Oct. 13 letter, included in the coach’s personnel file obtained by the Times Free Press, Grundy County Director of Schools Jessie Kinsey tells Tate that “Any prohibited contact may be viewed as an attempt to interfere in the ongoing investigation into this matter.”
The letter also states that Tate is to remain a classroom teacher, and the only contact he can have with members of the football team is if they are students in his classes.
The remainder of Tate’s 27-page personnel file, dating back to July 2011, does not indicate any prior complaints about condoning hazing or other types of misconduct.