Former Colquitt County High School head football coach Rush Propst issued the following statement late Tuesday afternoon.

Propst was relieved of his coaching duties by the Colquitt County Board of Education at a special called meeting Thursday after an investigation that alleged he gave pills to students, owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, attempted to misuse public funds and was insubordinate in at least two dramatic incidents.

I greatly appreciate the many words of support and encouragement I have received during the last week from so many people throughout our community.  It has meant a great deal to me and my family.

 

I believe that certain individuals conducted an investigation into me that they shrouded in secrecy.  They developed the conclusions of the investigation before they determined the facts.  The entire process was extremely unfair to me.  In fact, I was never interviewed and didn’t learn of the allegations, despite requests, until I read the paper Friday.  I want to assure everyone that much of the information presented is totally false and the rest is misleading half-truths meant to damage my reputation and support pre-determined actions.  As a coach, I always expect “fair play;” but I don’t believe it has happened in this instance.

 

I have been blessed with a very successful 38 plus-year coaching career.  In the eleven years I’ve been here, we have built a great program and helped hundreds of students get college scholarships and many more young men begin successful lives in their communities.  I am very proud of our success in Colquitt County.

 

There has been a lot of speculation and rumor because of the way Mr. Howell pursued this investigation and how he distributed his conclusions.  It is very sad to see this create division in our community.  Please don’t join too quickly in arguments with friends and family.

 

I look forward to addressing the many false and misleading statements made about me in the very near future.  In the meantime, I am assessing my options.

 

Coach Propst