The Advocate and Democrat

“I wasn’t going to get involved until it became personal. Now it has, and my mom always told me my name means more than money. That’s why I decided to speak out,” said Black.

The former assistant under Summey said there was no conspiracy to get rid of Summey by the staff or Sequoyah principal Maurice Moser.

According to Black, the friction between Summey and the coaches began the Thursday following the Rhea County scrimmage.

Summey wrote on a board in the locker room that practice began at 3:30 p.m., but took the team out on his own at 3:15.

During that same practice, Black says Summey’s instruction for the players differed from the coaching staff’s, creating confusion.

Another time issue arose on Friday before the Red & White game, when Summey called out Black for being late a second time.

Black said no specific time was posted for coaches to be there, only players.

Black said the coaches met with Summey following practice and felt that both side hashed out their differences.

Another issue arose when the staff decided to attend a spring scrimmage. Each coach drove separately, but Black said Summey isolated himself from the rest of the coaches at the scrimmage.

Black said the staff lost confidence in Summey when he was critical of players and the staff during practice, did not make adjustments at halftime during games, and did not know the schemes or have a firm grip of the playbook.

All this led Gregory and Moser to ultimately dismiss Summey as head coach.

“I think it was a good decision based on his qualifications. It’s hard to tell people what to do when you don’t know the scheme,” said Black.

Black also wanted to make clear that allegations of him qutting because Sweetwater volunteer assistants were paid and that Moser begged him to come back each year were false.

Those allegations were made in an unsigned letter to the editor printed by another Monroe County publication.

As far as the split caused by the firing and coaching search, Black said Sequoyah supporters need to unite and forget about past loyalties.

“It’s time for the community to come together as one and support the kids, because in the end that’s who suffers. The black and gold is gone. The blue and white is gone. Let’s get together and make it red and gold.”

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