When Chamblee Charter High School football players take the field Friday night, their head coach might not be there.

“This is what I can confirm: employee Curtis Mattair is currently on paid administrative leave,” DeKalb County School District spokesman Andre Riley told AJC.com Thursday morning in a brief emailed statement.

MORE: About Curtis Mattair

Riley said Mattair, in his third season as the Bulldogs’ head coach, will be on leave “pending the conclusion of the investigation.” Officials said the focus of the investigation is on a personnel matter. Mattair has been on leave since Monday.

Earlier media reports indicated Mattair was suspended indefinitely following a controversy surrounding T-shirts the football team received from the coach. The T-shirts, according to reports, read "DBNP," an acronym that some say stands for "Don't Be No (expletive)."

Riley would not confirm those reports. However, he said Mattair was never suspended.

“DCSD does not comment on personnel matters,” Riley said.

Chamblee is scheduled to play Dunwoody High School at 7:30 p.m. Friday at North DeKalb Stadium, according to the team’s website.

The Bulldogs are 0-2 this season, with lopsided losses to Forsyth Central (42-7) and Lowndes (62-0). They were 1-9 last season, losing their final nine games.

In other news:

Drivers said construction caused the parking garage traffic to back up

About the Author

Keep Reading

Flights are shown cancelled on a screen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal in Atlanta on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Cancellations at the Atlanta airport got worse over the weekend, as about 370 flights were canceled Saturday and about another 470 more by Sunday. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com