“It’s pretty stupid. They keep picking on a coach. We just want to come out here and play some football and try win some games, but we can’t even have a coach out here to coach us,” Karns center Tim Jacobs said.
“He’s our leader out there, but he’s not just a coach, he’s our friend. I mean, it’s just a tough situation,” Karns linebacker Doug Miller said.
That brings us to Wednesday night’s rally. Those on hand want it known they support their coach. So much so, parents organized a petition wanting some answers from Knox County superintendent Charles Lindsey.
“It’s kind of like you suspend a guy, like it’s you’re guilty before you’re proven innocent, and I thought in a court of law, you’re innocent until proven guilty. We just feel like our coach and our teacher is not getting a fair deal, and we just want to know what’s going on,” Lloyd said.
As for this Friday, players and some in the stands will be wearing wristbands to show their support of Fulkerson.
Quotes from a story broadcast on WATE on Wednesday evening.
Starting quarterback Logan Hammontree said he was ticked off by the school system’s decision. “We just thought there was another fake allegations but we all don’t know what exactly is going on. “
Running back Shaquan Andrews said Fulkerson “Is a great coach, he works with me after practice and makes sure I do my school work.”
Parents rallied in support of the coach on the Karns practice field Wednesday night and are demanding a meeting with superintendent Charles Lindsey.
Lloyd Bonner, whose son Spencer is a defensive player on the team, said, “My son’s a senior, for example, so I think that’s a pretty rough go at it for it to happen right at this time, why right now without giving us any answers to go with it?”
Hammontree predicted the team will play harder at Friday’s game.
“Yeah, we’ll go out there to win it for him.”
Parents are also trying to get a hold of some black wrist bands or arm bands to wear Thursday and Friday in another show of support for coach Fulkerson.
Quotes from a WBIR story broadcast last evening
At Karns High School, an investigator watched the practice while parents organized a petition drive in support of the coach.”We need him,” Senior Josh Winters said. “He’s a great coach.”
“We want the coach back, but it’s not because he’s the football coach,” Booster Club President Steve Baker said. “He’s a contributor to this community, and we feel like some more explanation needs to come to the forefront.”
“I’m concerned about the environment created within that school. As a parent I want to know why,” he said.
Quotes from today’s story in the News-Sentinel
“We are looking for answers as to why the school administration is acting unilaterally in taking actions against this individual without justification,” Steve Baker, Karns Booster Club co-president, said Wednesday. “These incidents are not consistent with what he has displayed to the football team.”
“We just want to know what is going on inside the school.” Baker said.
