Timing of warning letter to Olentangy Liberty High School baseball coach questioned

A day after The Dispatch requested records about a Liberty High School varsity baseball trip to Georgia that resulted in suspensions for alcohol and drug violations, Olentangy Local School District officials revised a written warning to the coach to reflect a harsher punishment.

Just after 3 p.m. May 2, district treasurer Timothy "Ryan" Jenkins emailed The Dispatch an April 24 warning letter to varsity baseball head coach Ty Brenning that admonished him for his behavior during an unrelated team meeting — not the Georgia trip that one parent described as "a drunken drug fest."

In the original written warning, which Brenning signed, he explained that he was responsible for "letting his emotions get the better of him" when he responded to a player who apparently was joking around. "His word choice and tenner (sic) were both inappropriate and charged with emotion," according to the letter, which refers only in passing to "the recent baseball trip" and does not hold Brenning responsible for leaving the trip early, failing to monitor the team or the multiple nights of alcohol and drug use.

The same day The Dispatch published its initial story , May 3, Brenning signed a revised version of the original that included specifics of the Georgia trip and scolded Brenning for being irresponsible.

Jenkins explained this week that the revised version likely didn't exist when The Dispatch requested it and that the district's revision, which added the Georgia trip problems, was drafted shortly after The Dispatch request was fulfilled.

"My understanding is that this action was enacted AFTER your request—my search did not turn up any drafts, so I can only assume it did not exist in any draft form," Jenkins said. On Friday, Jenkins said that the unsigned draft letter did exist and that he had failed to find it.

According to several parents of players who attended the sports camp, coaches left the players alone in hotel rooms and failed to check in on them nightly . The Dispatch previously reported that a large majority of the team — as many as 19 of 24 varsity team members — were suspended for violating the district's alcohol and drug abuse policy, and one student was taken to a Georgia hospital after overdosing on cannabis gummies.

Jenkins, "out of an abundance of caution" also emailed The Dispatch an email to Brenning from Darin Meeker, Liberty's athletic director, admonishing Brenning for leaving Georgia early and ordering him to get permission if he alters future travel plans. However, none of that detail was included in Brenning's signed April 24 warning letter nor was it included in The Dispatch May 3 reporting.

The Dispatch obtained the May 3 letter signed by Brenning that included specific references to the Georgia trip and Brenning leaving early only from a parent who had requested it after The Dispatch story was published.

In response to questions about why the more detailed letter, even a draft copy, to Brenning was not included in the May 2 Dispatch request, one parent replied:

"The change happened … the day of your article. Seems like a coverup."

Christian Ross, director of district communications, denies that.

"The answer to your question is emphatically no; this (Dispatch) story had no impact on the district’s investigation or any resulting disciplinary action."

The district, citing federal student privacy laws, hasn't commented on Brenning or the Georgia trip, refused to say how many players were suspended and why, and won't acknowledge that there is an ongoing investigation into the matter.

The parents of several players have met as recently as this week with school district officials, seeking more information on Brenning's status and that of his assistants. They are angry that so many students were punished while coaches have not. Not satisfied with answers, they have been told to file official complaints.

Parent and student complaints were responsible for the resignations of the entire coaching staff of the Liberty High School varsity hockey team in early March.

Parents accused Kevin Alexander and his assistants, Darwin McClelland and Richard Smith, of forging an "extremely toxic environment" with belittling and abusive language, including repeated use of the F word and derogatory references to women.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Timing of warning letter to Olentangy Liberty High School baseball coach questioned