Sable Winfree led Warren County High School to several wins on the court during her years as a Lady Pioneer. Soon, the school and Winfree could be fighting for a win in Federal Court.
Through her legal counsel Michael Galligan, Winfree brought forth a suit in the Eastern District of the United State District Court Thursday against the Warren County School District, Mendy Stotts, Chris Hobbs and Dr. Grant Swallows. In the complaint, Winfree alleges her fifth and 14th amendment rights were deprived and seeks a judgment for a sum not to exceed $750,000 in compensatory damages.
“It’s very much a shame that they didn’t work with this girl – who is an excellent athlete and student – to help her play her last year in high school,” said Galligan when contacted by the Standard for comment on the suit. “Among other things, she wouldn’t (have had to) lose a scholarship or fail to get one because of the drama.”
The Standard also reached out for comment from the named parties in the suit. Dr. Swallows responded, “I can confirm that we have received information related to the lawsuit but have not had an opportunity to review it as of yet. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on pending litigation.”
The crux of the complaint from Winfree centers around her dismissal from the girls basketball team and the subsequent loss of scholarship opportunities following her graduation from WCHS. The damages also noted “Winfree has suffered emotional injuries, such as humiliation, embarrassment and harm to reputation, because of the Warren County School District’s actions.”
The Standard reported extensively about Winfree’s dismissal in November after she played just three quarters under Stotts, who took over the program last year. Warren County High School declined to renew Stotts’ coaching contract following her lone year at the helm and she has since been replaced by Kyle Turnham as head coach.
In the complaint, Winfree’s claim is Stotts informed her she was “done,” following a practice on Wednesday, Nov. 15 due to Stotts’ claim that she had heard Sable “use the ‘F-word’ – directed at her – in practice.” Winfree followed up that afternoon by emailing athletic director Phillip King to set up a meeting the following day about her future with the program.
According to the complaint, Winfree and her mother met with King and assistant principal Anna Geesling, but neither Stotts or any other member of the WCHS girls basketball program were present. At its conclusion, Sable says she “received a text message from coach Stotts which informed her of another meeting scheduled for Friday (the following day).”
In the final meeting, Winfree, her mother, her father, her grandparents, friend of the family Lisa Zavogiannis, Hobbs, King, Stotts and assistant girls coaches Erin Patterson and Casey Owens were all in attendance. The details around the final meeting seem to be the crux of the due process issues the complaint alleges violated Winfree’s constitutionally protected rights.
The complaint says, “it was made very clear by statements of the school principal, Chris Hobbs, that is was not a hearing for due process purposes. Therefore, Ms. Winfree was not afforded the opportunity to present her side of the story or call witnesses on her behalf.”
It also notes Stotts allegedly said she had evidence of Sable saying the ‘F-word,’ and was justified in kicking Sable out, but that evidence does not seem to have been provided in the final meeting. Winfree alleged she had witnesses who would say they that she did not say the ‘F-word,’ but was “never presented with the opportunity to present those witnesses and have them tell the coaches and administrators what they heard.”
Winfree was a star for the Lady Pioneers in her first three seasons. She was named the district freshman of the year in 2020-21, collected all-district honors in her sophomore and junior years and was a key contributor to the school’s first district title in nearly four decades last season (2022-23). Her on-court exploits helped her earn a scholarship offer from Trevecca, an offer Winfree noted on her Twitter page on Dec. 23, 2022.
In the post, Winfree wrote, “I am blessed and thankful to receive my first collegiate offer from this amazing school,” and tagged the post with a picture of the Trevecca basketball logo.
That offer, presented during Winfree’s junior year when she helped the team to 24 victories, including a region win (just the second for the program since 1979), seemed to stand until Winfree’s dismissal, according to the complaint.
It was only after Winfree’s dismissal that she seemed to lose the opportunity to make it to the next level as a basketball player. “Two weeks after she was dismissed from the team, Ms. Winfree was contacted by the coaching staff at Trevecca and was informed that the coaching staff had decided to rescind her scholarship offer,” the complaint says.
The complaint goes on to say, “false statements made by coach Stotts and the lack of an opportunity to put on evidence and defend herself against the accusations made against her deprived Ms. Winfree of the scholarships and future education she had earned as a basketball player.”
Winfree is set to graduate from WCHS in May. The Standard will continue to follow the case and provide details in the coming weeks.
