Coy Sheppard, the Mississippi high school football player who has been embroiled in a continuing legal dispute over his decision to wear pink cleats in October to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is back on the practice field with his Mendenhall High teammates, according to Associated Press reports. His team is preparing for Friday's third-round game of the state playoffs for an opportunity to advance to the semifinals. Last week, Sheppard thought he had been reinstated to the team and, in return, agreed to drop a lawsuit against Simpson County Schools claiming he was kicked off the team because of the pink cleats.
However, Sheppard was not allowed to dress for last Friday's game and told by coach Chris Peterson that he had missed too many practices. Sheppard's attorney, Oliver Diaz, told The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson that he's considering an amended lawsuit seeking additional damages and that he considers Peterson's actions a "bad faith breach of the settlement agreement."
"So not only is this coach making bad decisions, he is also costing the taxpayers of Simpson County a good amount in legal damages," Diaz said.
The school district's attorney, Daniel C. Jones, has not commented to local media. But district officials contend the kicker was booted from the team for ignoring orders from the coaching staff to take off the cleats, adding that the matter is not about a lack of support for breast cancer awareness. Sheppard, a senior placekicker, donned the brightly colored cleats - a gift from his 82-year-old great-grandmother - for an Oct. 8 game to honor two family members who had kicked cancer.
