As Notice of Lawsuit Arrives, Clay Wrestling Plans on Moving Club To Old Firehouse

Prominent Jacksonville Litigator Represents Boy's Family

Stock photography by Vitor Monthay.

As residents reacted with surprise, shock and anger to last week’s report of hazing at Clay High School, district officials were notified of a former school wrestler’s “intent to sue” over sadistic assaults he alleges happened on school grounds. The boy is being represented by Jacksonville attorney John Phillips, nationally known for obtaining multi-million dollar verdicts in personal-injury and wrongful-death cases.

Meanwhile, parents of former and present wrestling students at Clay High have new concerns. Florida athletic regulations allows sports’ activities to operate off school grounds in private spaces. The coach of Clay High’s embattled wrestling team says he is planning to do just that.

The Florida Legislature designated the Florida High School Athletic Association as the governing organization to regulate all aspects of sports’ activities in Florida. The association does not allow year-round practice and play of sports but designated “seasons” when the sport can begin and must end.

To bypass the restrictions of limited playing seasons and to allow year-round practice and participation, clubs for different sports have been formed in Florida high schools, usually by coaches or at their suggestion. While independent from the schools, the clubs typically use schools facilities.

The association approved the existence of the sports clubs but required them to abide by the same rules as in-school athletics and to have their own liability insurance. The association has a no-tolerance policy for hazing and requires full-time supervision of athletes.

According to Florida’s Division of Corporations, Clay High’s head wrestling coach, James Reape, an institution unto himself in and around Green Cove Springs, formed the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club in 2018. Besides Reape, the club includes a 17-member board of directors, many of whom are parents of present and former wrestling students. Most board members listed Reape’s address as their own on the corporations website.

Students told Clay News & Views they believed it was mandatory to join the club of their chosen sport, if one existed.

In late December, Reape appeared before the Green Cove Springs City Council to ask for help. He asked the city to remove an organization from the old Volunteer Fire Department building at 25 Roderigo Ave. and lease it to the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club.

Reape told the council the station would be used as a place to nurture youth wrestling and offer a place for children after school where they would have “positive role models.”

When this picture was taken recently bicycle repair volunteers were still working at the old Green Cove Springs firehouse. (Photo by Peter Swanson)

“We want to make improvements to the facility. We would add a bathroom for women and men.” Reape said. “We’d happily invest in the building. Our interest is to get kids involved in sports.”

The group that now occupies the small space protested their ouster. It is made up of seven volunteers from Green Cove Springs and volunteers from the Orange Park Methodist Church. They repair and refurbish bicycles and give them to charities and underprivileged kids in the county.

Richard Knoff, a long-time volunteer, said the group repairs about 1,000 bicycles of all sizes per year and gave 740 bicycles to the J.P. Hall Charity’s Children’s Christmas Party last Christmas. Knoff said all donations, grants, and their own money was spent on parts for the bicycles.

“We can’t afford to lease anything, and that is the bottom line.” Knoff said.

The council voted unanimously to evict the bicycle restoration group and allow the Green Cove Springs Wrestling Club to lease the old firehouse.

Some parents are not as optimistic as Reape about the wrestling club’s new space. They said the building appears far too small for Reape’s proposal to include children in the club’s new space. After the hazing, some worry about lack of supervision.

“Obviously, the administration and coaches at Clay High were not providing supervision. Now that they’ve been caught, they are distancing themselves with the use of the club. What’s going to happen when teenagers have free reign of an off-site facility with no controls?” one mother asked? “It sets a dangerous precedent and parents become liable for anything that happens at the facility.”

In November, the school board voted to disband the school police department, which will quit operating in July. Then Clay County Sheriff and Green Cove police will become the law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating criminal activities at Clay High and the new wrestling club building, respectively.

“As with any crime or potential crime, the incident will be fully investigated and documented by our team.” Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook said. “And the parents are free to contact me if they have any concerns.”

Green Cove Police Chief John Guzman also sought to reassure parents. “I don’t know what happened at the school or any details of the investigation,” Guzman said, “but if a a crime is reported, we will investigate it fully.”

Research on hazing has proven that penalties help deter future episodes and is recommended as the first line of defense. Accordingly, hazing offenders in Florida and throughout the nation have been expelled and, depending on the severity of the offense, some are arrested. Sports teams have been suspended from play, for at least a season, and coaches who had knowledge of the hazing were fired or limited to teaching.

Despite the numerous rumors swirling around the abuse of wrestlers at Clay High, those who can provide answers about the hazing aren’t talking. Clay High’s administration won’t specify what, if any, measures have been taken to specifically address allegations involving the wrestling team. Wrestling season and club activities have continued as usual.

According to police reports, a Clay High School representative said parents had been notified of the hazing at the high school. Although notifications to parents are public record, Clay High Principal Jennifer Halter refused a CN&V request to view the them, and instead referred the request to Terri Dennis, the communications and media relations coordinator for the school district.

While Dennis was quick to respond to CN&V’s requests, she must obtain records from Halter to comply. Dennis did issue a general statement regarding the school’s anti-hazing efforts:

Our coordinator of district athletics trains our school athletic directors on the dangers of hazing and bullying each school year through our Athletic Directors Professional Learning Community. This community meets regularly throughout the school year to discuss best practices in athletics, which continues to emphaize the importance of hazing and bullying in sports. Our school athletic directors then train the coaches at the school site.

Some of the strategies we have used in the past and continue to use are one-on-one meetings with the assistant principal, coach, student-athlete and parents and coursework for student-athletes through NFHS’ Learning Center. Again, students found to be in violation are punished through our Code of Conduct.

Reports from the school police regarding the hazing incidents appeared intentionally incomplete, but there has been no response for additional information.

Police reports record the reasons why the State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute, but the reasoning appears to contradict the evidence presented by the police. Requests for public records made to the State Attorney’s Office, both by phone and in person, have gone unanswered and unacknowledged for six weeks.

Next: CN&V will continue to provide updates as public records are obtained and report on possible new hazing investigations.