Longtime Davidson High School head football coach Fred Riley was placed on administrative leave, Mobile County school officials confirmed Wednesday.
The district offered little explanation for the move. “We don’t comment on personnel matters,” said Rena Phillips, director of communications for Mobile County Public Schools.
Coach at Center of Hazing Case
Riley has been the central figure in a scandal that erupted at the west Mobile school after video surfaced in April showing freshman Rodney Kim Jr. being beaten by eight teammates in the locker room. Kim suffered a broken arm in the attack, and his family says he has also endured lasting emotional trauma.
Kim’s parents filed a $12 million lawsuit against the school system and publicly called for Riley to be fired. Last week, two former Davidson players and their families joined the litigation, alleging they too were beaten by football players and claiming that Riley knew about the violence.
The administrative leave marks the most significant personnel action in the case to date, though the district stopped short of characterizing it as discipline or connecting it directly to the allegations. It remained unclear how long the leave would last and who would lead the program in Riley’s absence.