Football coaches knew that many players on the Grady High team lived outside the school district and even gave them rides to their homes outside the city, according to the anonymous complaint that sparked a recruiting investigation of the Midtown school.
The complaint, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday through an open records request, said parents and students used “bogus” utility bills or relatives’ addresses to falsify records so they could enroll at Grady High.
“They want to build a winning team by any means necessary,” said the complaint, dated Nov. 7.
Superintendent Erroll Davis on Monday announced the Atlanta school system was investigating about 20 Grady football players, their parents and their coaches as a result of the complaint.
The team’s head coach, Ronnie Millen Sr., was removed from his position at the school and transferred.
The complaint said football players who lied about where they live to transfer to Grady were taking tax money away from students who do live in the community.
“I am highly upset and bothered,” said the complaint. “These parents are committing theft and are showing their children that integrity is not important; and that … you should lie and falsify information to get what you want.”
Davis said Monday that parents who signed falsified documents could face potential criminal charges, and students could lose eligibility to play sports and be forced to transfer to schools near their homes.
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