CLINTON, Tenn. (WVLT) – In the latest update in an ongoing grade-fixing scandal at Clinton High School, school officials have released a letter claiming an athlete previously thought to be ineligible to play during the 2023 season actually was able to play.
In May, documents obtained by WVLT News stated that Clinton High School had self-reported that one of their football players had not received enough credits to play the previous season. Now, a letter from the school’s new principal is claiming that was a mistake.
Previous Coverage: Clinton High School to forfeit all 2023 football wins for playing ineligible athlete after grade-changing accusations
In the letter, now-Principal Robbie Herrell said the school reported that the player had only received five credits during the previous school year. That would mean the athlete was one short of being eligible, according to the TSSAA handbook. However, Harrell said, the school system did some digging and found that the sixth credit was misplaced, instead being entered into the 2022 calendar instead of 2023, the wrong transcript.
“As you can see from the attached transcript, the student had five credits listed for the 2023 school year,” Herrell told TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves. “However, after be [SIC] notified that a mistake was made, we looked into how many credit recovery courses the student took after he enrolled at Clinton High School.”
Previous Coverage: Clinton High School hires new principal, ends contracts with guidance counselors amid grade changing investigation
This comes after several employees — former Principal Dan Jenkins, teachers Rachel Jones and Clay Turpin, Football Coach Darrell Keith and three guidance counselors — were removed from the school. Additionally, Carrie Jenikins, Dan Jenkins’ wife and head of the counseling department, was placed on suspension. Jones and Turpin, reportedly under orders from Dan Jenkins, were accused of changing more than 1,500 grades.
As for what comes next, a school representative told WVLT News that the system is waiting on an updated ruling from the TSSAA. There’s been no word yet on what this would mean for Keith, whose contract was terminated directly because of the student athlete’s eligibility concerns.
The complete letter is below:
Editor’s Note: The letter is dated May 10, 2024. A representative with Anderson County Schools has said this date is a mistake, and the letter was likely supposed to be dated June 10, 2024.
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