A school board in Michigan has unanimously recommended the firing of a high school athletics director over safety concerns and allegations he retaliated against participants in who were involved in an investigation.
According to M.Live, the Kenowa Hills Board of Education recommended termination of Ross Willick 6-0 for ignoring safety concerns during a strength class. The board also voted during the same meeting to suspend head football coach Don Fellows for two games.
An attorney for Wilick said he will have an option to request a hearing relating to the decision.
Kenowa Hills' principal was suspended for five days during a meeting earlier this month.
All three personnel decisions were related to two reports from law firm Clark Hill that uncovered “ongoing problems that invoke significant legal concern,” which found complaints of sex discrimination and student safety issues within the district's high school training class.
“Equal education opportunity is required by law and consistent with board policies,” said Grate, who presented on his law firm’s findings during the meeting, “and the integrity of this district will not be sacrificed on the altar of football.”
Dozens of district parents and community members protested the action, garnering 400 signatures for petition showing their disapproval of the action.
“I recently resigned because I could no longer support or be associated with the direction of this investigation,” said Jeff Gustinis, a former school board member who was elected in 2015. “I tried to get through. I was unsuccessful. Especially an investigation that, in my opinion, begins with a predetermined conclusion and not a true search for facts.”
A statement provided by the district to the media after the meeting stated that it “recognizes that the information contained in the report may be difficult, particularly because it involves individuals who are well known and valued by many members of the Kenowa Hills community.
“The actions taken in response to the investigation were not taken lightly,” the district wrote. “They were based on the district’s responsibility to each and every KHPS student.”
The petition organizers have now threatened to not support an upcoming district ballot initiative, which includes a tax proposal that supports day-to-day operations, not on primary residences. The measure would generate approximately $17.2 million in revenue if approved and levied in 2027.
Jared Vandrop, who has a son currently in his junior year and another who graduated last year, argued the process has not been transparent.
“There’s been question after question after question, and the board brought up a motion tonight to punish or to fire the athletic director and to punish the football coach for something that we didn’t know about until tonight,” he said.
The findings of the Clark Hill reports note that the strength classes were dominated with male students and dominated by the school's football program, with some female students being turned away.
At the time of the first fall 2025 investigation, 51 students were enrolled in the first hour and “all were male and 48 of them were involved in the football program.”
M.Live reported that Clark Hill attorneys detailed how district athletic director Willick sent emails recommending “like-minded athletes” from similar sports be grouped in the high school course, which they said resulted in impeded participation by female athletes in some classes.
“We believe there are some clear repercussions that occur with tolerating an all-male football class,” the report reads, referring to the first hour class. “... The reality is that probably female students do not feel comfortable in a class dominated by male student football players, especially with their football coaches present. This is especially true when coaches use profanity and, for one coach, make sexual comments.”
The report also found that football coaches were attending the strength classes, and the classes were also being used as preparation for football film review on Fridays. After being asked to stop, Willick began holding football drills in the gym several times a week.
The coaches who attended the classes were cited with not being trained in safe practices.
“One assistant coach … with no credentials in weight training and conditioning, added too much weight to one student lifting exercise, resulting in the student athlete falling, dropping the weights and rolling his ankle in December 2025,” the report reads, leading to the conclusion that "the football coaches … continue to place the safety of students at risk.”
As a result, Clark Hill recommended a total ban on all athletics coaches during strength classes.
“Our two investigations have found that nothing but mischief has been created by allowing the football coaches to be part of this instructional hour.”
The report also notes that Willick information two unnamed coaches not to attend the fall coaches meeting and prohibited them from working with the football program moving forward. Wilick cited the investigations as the reason for the action, telling the law firm that he did “not have ill will or malicious intent” and “assumed discomfort was mutual.”
