Editor, Sun-Sentinel:
This letter is in response to an article [“CHS ‘considering’ change at football coach”] printed in the Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, edition of The Sun-Sentinel.
As an alumnus of Charleston High School and a veteran of the CHS Athletics Department, I would like to think that the school board would not support a plan to remove Coach Scott Martin as the head coach.
Coach Martin has been a great coach who has a solid track record and he cares about his student’s educational achievements as well as sports. He has led the team to five regional championship wins, three North Mississippi title wins, and played in three state championships. Just this season, he had five CHS football players selected on the All-State teams. He has been a father figure and mentor to many who are without. He is well respected and admired among the students and often contributes to their lives outside of the classroom.
The way that Coach Martin was approached, as presented by the article, was not professional, nor was enough reasoning provided, even if it was just being considered. If the matter was worth mentioning, then an explanation was worth providing. If it was simply a consideration, why would the principal and assistant principal pull Coach Martin into a meeting and present him with such information?
The emails to The Sun-Sentinel from Principal [Mark] Beechem and Assistant Principal [Eric] Rice appear to be an attempt to backpedal their original conversation and save face.
Now come the questions. What do they have to hide? Why wasn’t the athletic director a part of this discussion? Should the school be looking at moving past a winning coach and a certified math teacher who, by the way, has kept excitement in the school as well as the town of Charleston?
What my hometown needs at this point isn’t a new football coach, but to get our school back to where it was years ago academically.
William “Onion” Wilson
Fairfax, Virginia
