Just three days after being removed as Van Buren County High School's girls' basketball coach, Tyler Sapp was reinstated less than a week before the Eaglettes tip off their sixth season with him leading the program.
Sapp was called into a meeting with Van Buren Director of Schools Cheryl Cole, school principal Katina Simmons and assistant principal Drew Campbell on Monday afternoon. Sapp said Cole informed him then that he was being removed as head coach because the program needed to have a female in charge.
Despite Sapp's protest that such a move was sexist, Cole - who had coached the team for three seasons prior to Sapp - removed him and began overseeing practices. Sapp also said he declined Cole's offer to remain with the Eaglettes as an assistant coach.
But on Thursday afternoon, after the story received national headlines and Sapp hinted he would pursue legal action, he was called into another meeting with Cole, Simmons and Campbell, where he was informed he was being reinstated as head coach. He returned to practice immediately after that meeting.
"When I got the call and was asked to come in for a new meeting, I wasn't sure about going, but I decided to see what they had to say," said Sapp, who had taken three mental health days off from teaching this week. "It was a stressful three days, but I stayed home with my wife and 2-year-old daughter to keep my mind off other things.
"I'm excited to be back coaching. I just want some normalcy for the kids because they've had a whirlwind week, too. I want to get back to work for the sake of the kids so they can have as good a season as possible."
Staff photo / Cheryl Cole, center, coaches the Van Buren County High School girls' basketball team during a January 2015 game at Lookout Valley.Sapp declined to comment Friday on whether he was still pursuing legal action, but he added that "obviously there's still concern in the back of your mind because the same people who removed me are still in charge."
He also said he has reached out to assistant Cassandra Binkley, who resigned after he was removed as head coach, but he had not yet heard whether she will rejoin the staff, which also includes Jill Bouldin and Lakelyn Bouldin, a former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga guard.
A special called school board meeting was scheduled for Monday evening for the sole purpose of discussing Sapp's removal. As of late Friday afternoon, there was no announcement on whether that meeting will still be held.
Sapp was named District 5-A coach of the year after leading the Eaglettes to a 24-3 record in 2020-21, his fifth season at the head of the program. He is 86-65 overall as Van Buren County's head coach, with the team reaching the region tournament every year under his direction. Sapp worked for one season as Cole's assistant before taking over the program.
The Eaglettes open their season Tuesday at Soddy-Daisy.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.