By now we all know the saga.
When details became public last week that nearly half of Chattanooga Prep’s faculty — 21 of the roughly 50 teachers at the school — lacked proper credentials as educators, a shock wave rattled through the area.
The irresponsible judgment by some adults paid to be decision makers meant not only was the academic standing of students called into question publicly, but it also created an air of uncertainty that has swirled around a collection of athletes who would otherwise be known simply as Hamilton County’s most dominant basketball program in more than two decades.
As is too often the case, it has been the kids — teenage boys who have done nothing to deserve scrutiny — who are caught up in the negativity.
Shortly after Tuesday’s early-morning practice, the Sentinels loaded up to make the two-hour trip west to Murfreesboro, where on Wednesday afternoon they will begin the process of trying to become Chattanooga’s first boys’ basketball repeat state champions since Tennessee Temple in 2002-03. Oddly enough, before Temple closed its doors as a school in 2011, it was located on the same Union Avenue site where Chatt Prep now calls home.