EXCLUSIVE: Corruption In Sports Programs At Idaho School District #271
The parent of a student at Coeur d’Alene High, exposed the culture and bias occurring within many sports
By Casey Whalen
The Lopez Family shared their experiences of strife, in dealing with the coaches and staff of the girls’ basketball team at Coeur d’Alene High School (CHS), the ramifications of exposing a corrupt culture within many sports programs at Coeur d’Alene School District #271, likely happening at many schools around the country.
Daniel Lopez went into great depth describing his daughter’s senior year (graduating class of 2025), and the frustration of restrictive game time, hampering her ability of college prospects to see her in action, possibly robbing her of any future in women’s basketball and potential scholarships. He also discussed stats shaving (transferring statistics from one player to another) by a previous assistant coach Chris Colvin and the difficulties in exposing the truth behind nefarious players at Coeur d’Alene High School.
Daniel’s daughter wrote the following letter deciding she would no longer be party to the abuse by coaches at CHS, in a concerted effort to promote chosen players.
After the Lopez Family provided proof regarding stats shaving by Mr. Colvin, the Principal at Coeur d’Alene High School, Mike Randles wrote this reply regarding the incident.
Mr. Lopez,
Thank you for your follow up communication. I will try to address your items by number:
1. Stats listed in Maxpreps do not impact team rankings. Stats are optional. They are not required by Maxpreps or the IHSAA. They do not calculate into any team rankings. As far as team rankings go, yes, Maxpreps matters. Individual stats are optional.
2. We did not need to interview the parents. More than a few provided evidence. We investigated the evidence they shared. We found the evidence to be compelling and the complaints to be with merit. Consequently, we took action against the coach. We are, by law, prohibited from sharing exactly what action we took, but action was taken.
3. Jon Adams was suspendedbecause he broke a rule that is specifically outlined in the state handbook. The Board of Control imposed a fine because he broke that rule. The coach in question did not break any state rules.
Your request for accountability has been fulfilled. I am, again, legally prohibited from sharing what action was taken but the coach has been held accountable. I am cc’ing my supervisor in this communication who will confirm as much.
I understand your frustration with what transpired. You (as well as a few others) shared similar concerns. Once we looked into it and found validity to those concerns, we followed procedure and dealt with the issue rather swiftly.
If you have any other questions that lie outside the scope of the action taken against the coach, I will do my best to answer them.
-Mike Randles, Principal of Coeur d’Alene High School
Reply from former assistant coach Chris Colvin regarding this issue, who has since resigned.
Colvin’s reaction to Daniel’s daughter making a successful basket. CHS vs Eagle December 1, 2024.
Stay tuned for future updates.