Fired HS Football Coach Failed to Report Student Hazing, Assault

Mead (Wa.) High School has fired head football coach Keith Stamps after a lawsuit was filed alleging he did not report hazing, student misconduct and sexual harassment from a summer football camp.

The camp took place in June 2023 at Eastern Washington University. There Mead football players stayed in student dorms for several nights. During the trip, one student told KREM2, “the alleged assaults started off with some hazing, which went from verbal and racial remarks all the way up to an assault or multiple assaults.”

Two parents contacted Stamps to report the assaults, one in July and another in August. According to the school’s investigation, following the July report Stamps spoke with a few players and the parent to determine that it was all a rumor. Following the August report, Stamps did nothing, and he did not disclose the August email to the school.

The assault was finally reported in February 2024. According to the police report, “younger students were hunted down/targeted for hazing purposed by upper classmen.” KREM2 reported that, “Another report from a different parent says the victim was held down by upper classmen and sexually assaulted with a massage gun.”

At that time, five students were charged with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. However, disciplinary action for Stamps has taken longer. Stamps received a Letter of Direction in May, and in September, he “was asked to sign a declaration attesting to his knowledge of events.” He continued to omit the August report in this declaration. In November 2024, the lawsuit was filed referencing the August 2023 email and Stamps’ omission of this report.

The findings of the investigation, including the full extent of the reports and Stamps’ failure to act, combined with the lawsuit prompted the school to fire Stamps.

School officials wrote to Stamps regarding the situation, their email read, “It wasn’t until after the email was discovered that you were asked about the email. The first time I asked you about the email (in a meeting on Nov. 21, 2024), you admitted to reading that email. You recalled following-up on the phone with the parent who sent the message to you. You admitted that you did no deeper investigation of these new allegations. You said that nothing in the August email had been “verified” and these allegations were simply part of a “rumor mill.” However, truth is, you did nothing to revisit the football camp incidents in light of this new information. 

“Your failure to inform school or district administrators about the allegations contained in the August email has had a detrimental effect on our students, staff, programs, and community. These allegations were left unaddressed for months, resulting in delayed Title IX investigations, delayed corrective measures for the aggressors, and delayed support for the victims, ultimately fueling a media firestorm, lawsuits, and calling into question the community’s trust in this District.”