Union County investigation finds high school football coach harassed his players
Editor’s note, added Dec. 24, 2024: A Union County Public Schools investigation looked into allegations of harassment against then-Parkwood High School Head Football Coach Tim Boyd. While the February 2023 investigatory report found evidence corroborating some allegations, it did not label his actions as sexual harassment, nor was he disciplined for any misconduct as a coach or teacher.
The final report of the Union County Schools stated: “The investigation did not substantiate any allegations of sexual harassment. Further the investigation did not substantiate any other violations of policy that warrant disciplinary action. The investigation was closed and we expect you to continue in your role as a teacher at Parkwood High School in the Fall of 2023.”
The final report was signed by UCPS Superintendent Dr. Andrew G. Houlihan. The final report was dated April 6, 2023.
Boyd voluntarily stepped down as the Parkwood football coach. Boyd remained as a PE teacher until July 2023 and then left the Union County school system voluntarily.
Parents at a Union County high school are demanding answers after a varsity football coach remains employed despite a district investigation corroborating some harassment claims against him.
A 10-page report provided to The Charlotte Observer by a parent whose child is named in it says a preponderance of evidence shows Tim Boyd, a physical education teacher and volunteer head football coach at Parkwood High School in Monroe, made inappropriate comments about “spraying his solution” between the player’s legs. Evidence also showed Boyd told a player he liked seeing him in his underwear while the player was changing in the locker room, according to the Sept. 28 report detailing findings of a Union County Public Schools investigation.
UCPS investigator Steve Simpson, who works in the district’s Employee Relations Department, conducted the investigation after parents alleged Boyd bullied and harassed players in his first year as the school’s football coach. Simpson’s investigation found evidence for some claims and didn’t for others.
It’s unclear whether UCPS investigated Boyd under Title IX — a part of federal law that says public schools must investigate reports about possible harassment or sexual violence and take steps to prevent further victimization or harm.
Simpson’s investigation found evidence Boyd “made the statements” of a sexual nature. Students or staff found to have engaged in “acts of harassment or other acts that create a hostile environment may be disciplined including, if circumstances warrant, suspension or expulsion for students, employment termination for staff,” according to district policy.
Boyd allegedly accused one of his players of “breaking into a girl’s home and trying to rape her,” but Boyd never called authorities and failed to make anyone other than former Athletic Director Rocky Richar aware of the allegation, the report concluded.
Multiple requests for comment from Boyd went unanswered.
Boyd tweeted a Bible verse from Isaiah 43:2 early Wednesday morning after this story published online.
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you,” the verse says. “When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
Boyd still employed and coaching
The district’s investigation launched in September after Meg Enos and Tammy Meaders, parents of football players, brought concerns to Parkwood High Principal Tracy Strickland, Richar and Superintendent Andrew Houlihan, among others.
The report lists Simpson’s findings but does not outline discipline, if any, for Boyd.
Tahira Stalberte, a UCPS spokesperson, confirmed this week Boyd is still a volunteer coach and employed as a teacher at Parkwood High. She said the district cannot comment on the investigation or whether Boyd was placed on leave while officials conducted the investigation. Stalberte declined to discuss the investigation and cited a state statute that pertains to volunteers. The statute, however, allows local school boards to release volunteer files in certain circumstances.
“I would really like to see systems in place to ensure that abuse doesn’t occur and when reports of abuse occur they are handled expediently and uniformly,” Enos told the Observer. “Young men should know that this is no way to act, but the school has given the impression he has done nothing wrong with its inaction.”
No communication to parents
Meaders’ son played football for Parkwood High this past season. She told the Observer her son was lifting weights when Boyd took a spray bottle, sprayed it in between the player’s legs and made the comment: “I just sprayed my solution into you.”
The investigation found Boyd made “inappropriate sexual jokes referencing semen to his players,” and players understood the comment “to be referring to semen.” It was taken by players to be a “sexual innuendo,” according to the investigation.
Meaders said she met with Strickland in September and was told the district was investigating Boyd.
“I never heard anything back,” Meaders said. “I did not get a copy of the investigation. I don’t even know the outcome of the investigation.”
Meaders did not not ask for a copy of the investigation but “assumed I would hear some type of feedback as to what was going on since my son was directly affected.”
Meaders said her son, who had played football his entire life, ultimately didn’t finish his senior year of football because of Boyd’s comments and the fact he “antagonized players.”
“As a mom, I feel so helpless,” she said. “We’re supposed to protect our children, so why is he still there? If one of our children was to act like coach Boyd, they would be suspended for the rest of the school year.”
Enos said she also didn’t know the outcome of the investigation until her attorney Tee Leitner, of Leitner, Bragg and Griffin law firm in Monroe, emailed UCPS general counsel Michele Morris at least twice asking if parents would be told the findings.
Leitner received the UCPS report Jan. 6.
“The district has not communicated with me except to say that because we have an attorney they have to communicate with him,” Enos said.
Longtime coach
Boyd was hired in May after previous coach Terrence Gittens died unexpectedly in April.
Parkwood was 6-3 under Gittens in 2021 and made the second round of the playoffs. Gittens coached at Parkwood for two years.
Under Boyd in the fall, Parkwood finished 5-6 and lost 56-42 to Eastern Guilford in the first round of the 2022 playoffs.
Boyd was previously the defensive coordinator and an assistant coach at Guilford College in Greensboro. He also coached at Mallard Creek High in Charlotte and Chester and York high schools in South Carolina.
Boyd is a graduate of Clover High School.
More findings
More than 50 people were interviewed during the district’s investigation, including assistant football coaches, school counselors, a school nurse, 21 players, whose names were redacted in the report, students and parents.
Simpson investigated 20 claims, according to the report, that ranged from bullying and harassing players, physical aggression and retaliation when Boyd’s authority was questioned.
“Coach Boyd did enforce certain rule violations inconsistently,” Simpson wrote. “However, there may have been circumstances which warranted different decisions.”
Simpson’s investigation found that Boyd threw a chair, phone and clipboards, but did so outside of his players’ presence, and that it was unfounded that Boyd tried to divide the team.
Simpson also found that Boyd failed to tell the school nurse of at least two confirmed cases of staph infections. The investigation found that Boyd did tell an athletic trainer of the positive infections but was unaware of any other reporting requirements, according to the report.
This story was originally published February 7, 2023 at 7:12 PM.
CORRECTION: A Union County Public Schools investigation looked into allegations of harassment against Parkwood High School football Coach Tim Boyd. While the report found evidence for some allegations of a sexual nature, it did not label his actions as sexual harassment. This story has been updated to reflect that.
