By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium
Nine months ago, Brandon Roy, one of Seattle’s most accomplished athletes and respected high school basketball coaches, walked away from Garfield High School under a cloud of uncertainty.
Today, Roy is walking back through those same doors, returning to the school he has long considered home with his name cleared, his reputation restored and an opportunity to do what he loves most: mentor young people through the game of basketball.
When Garfield High School Principal Dr. Tarance Hart self-reported potential recruiting violations involving the Garfield boys basketball program to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) last September, the decision set off months of speculation, frustration and unanswered questions throughout Seattle.
The controversy ultimately resulted in Roy stepping away from one of the state’s premier high school basketball programs. But when the WIAA concluded its investigation in May, it determined that the allegations against Roy were unsubstantiated.
For many, the WIAA’s findings brought relief. They also left the community asking how one of Seattle’s most respected coaches found himself at the center of a controversy that had divided opinions throughout the city.
Roy’s departure also came during a period when many within Seattle’s African American community were already expressing concern over the departures of several prominent Black coaches from Seattle Public Schools. While each situation involved different circumstances, the timing intensified calls for greater transparency, accountability and communication from district leadership.
The questions extended well beyond basketball.
How did the situation get to this point? Could it have been handled differently? What impact did it have on the people involved? And what lessons could be learned from an experience that tested not only relationships, but also the trust between Garfield High School and the community it serves?
Related Article: Brandon Roy Returns To Garfield After WIAA Investigation Clears Him Of Recruiting Allegations
Now, for the first time since the investigation concluded, Roy and Hart are publicly reflecting on what happened.
In an interview with The Seattle Medium, Roy and Hart spoke candidly about one of the most difficult chapters in Garfield basketball history, discussing the investigation, acknowledging communication missteps and explaining why they believe it is time for Garfield and the community that has stood behind it to move forward together.
For Roy, however, the past nine months were never simply about basketball.
They were about family.
One of the most difficult parts of the experience, Roy said, was watching his daughter, who remains a student at Garfield High School and was a member of two state championship girls basketball teams, struggle with the controversy surrounding her father.
With Roy no longer coaching at Garfield, the father-daughter routine they had enjoyed for years suddenly disappeared. Instead of returning to the court for her senior season, she chose not to play basketball.
“My daughter thought I did something wrong,” said Roy.
“Sitting out for that year, it was hard because I’m looking at my daughter and she’s not going to any games, but she wants to,” he continued. “We have those conversations, and I felt as a father, I have to show her I can move past these things and say, ‘Hey, look, it’s a mistake. It’s something that can be cleared up.'”
Roy said his decision wasn’t just about reclaiming a coaching position. It was about showing his daughter, and the countless young people who have looked to him as a mentor, that adversity doesn’t have to define a person’s life.
With his return to Garfield, Roy said both he and his daughter have been able to turn the page.
“Now she’s excited to be back playing hoop again and feeling like her dad’s back and things are kind of set back into place,” said Roy.
Throughout the investigation, Roy maintained that he had done nothing wrong. While he understood that Garfield High School and Seattle Public Schools had a responsibility to follow the investigative process, he said waiting for the outcome tested him in ways he never expected.
“The allegations were false,” said Roy. “They were completely false.”
“I wasn’t sure how do I prove that it was false,” he added. “Other than telling you it never happened.”
Rather than engage in public debate, Roy said he focused on his family and trusted that the truth would eventually come to light.
“I just had to keep living,” said Roy.
Asked why he wanted to return after everything that had happened, Roy never mentioned championships, wins or unfinished business.
Instead, he talked about purpose.
“It was always to help kids,” said Roy. “That was the entire reason why I was even coaching.”
That purpose, Roy said, has not changed.
Basketball has simply been the platform.
“It’s not just about those kids seeing me as coach or even a former NBA player,” said Roy. “I need them to see me as Brandon Roy, the human and the person.”
Roy said he often shares his own journey with players, not just the highlights, but the struggles as well. From attending summer school as a teenager to overcoming academic challenges before reaching the University of Washington and the NBA, he wants his players to understand that success isn’t defined by perfection, but by perseverance.
“Life is hard,” said Roy. “Everybody is going to go through something. It’s how you respond that matters.”
For many throughout Seattle, Brandon Roy’s reputation had been built over decades, not simply as one of the city’s greatest basketball players, but as someone who has consistently invested in young people and used basketball as a vehicle to change lives.
That is why the allegations resonated far beyond Garfield High School. They raised questions about the character of a coach that so many parents had entrusted with their sons, so many former players continued to call mentor, and so many in the community had watched grow from a Garfield High School standout into one of Seattle’s most respected leaders.
Perhaps more importantly, they left a community searching for answers.
While Roy was working to support his family through one of the most difficult periods of his coaching career, Hart was confronting a very different challenge.
As Garfield’s principal, Hart said he believed he had a responsibility to report concerns that had been brought to his attention and allow the WIAA process to take its course, even knowing the decision would have significant consequences for one of the school’s most respected coaches.
Looking back, however, Hart acknowledged that one aspect of the situation should have been handled much differently.
When asked whether Roy should have heard directly from him before learning about the investigation through communication sent to Garfield families, Hart didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” said Hart. “The right thing to do would have been to have a direct conversation. That was a learning lesson on my part.”
“I did send an email to Brandon directly before the community email went out,” said Hart. “But what should have happened is that I reached out to him to have a conversation. That was a misstep on my part. We had this sort of plan that I was following, but the right thing to do, and for me the professional thing to do, was to respect Brandon and have a direct conversation. That was a learning lesson on my part for sure.”
Looking back on the experience, Hart said it changed him as a leader.
“It was a unique process. You don’t learn about this when you’re taking leadership classes or working on your degree,” said Hart. “If I could go back, there’d be a lot of things that I would do differently, to be honest with you. It was a learning lesson for me as well.”
Despite everything that transpired, Hart said he never lost confidence that Roy was the right person to lead Garfield’s basketball program.
“I overwhelmingly think Brandon is the right person for this role,” says Hart. “Not just because of his basketball expertise, but because he cares about the community and the students. That’s exactly the type of person we need for the program, and I’m elated to have him back.”
Roy said the experience ultimately strengthened the relationship between the two men.
“We should be friends,” said Roy. “Every opportunity is a chance to get better and a chance to improve on something. Our communication has been really good.”
“Our communication is much better,” said Hart. “I’m not sure we’d be here if this didn’t happen. Hopefully this is going to make for a better Garfield and a better working relationship between me and (Roy).”
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ben Shuldiner, who assumed leadership after the investigation was already underway, said the outcome demonstrated the importance of allowing the process to run its course.
“There was an allegation. There was an investigation. There were no findings,” Shuldiner said. “Nothing happened.”
For Roy, however, the focus is no longer on what happened nine months ago.
It is on helping Garfield move forward.
“I hope our community, we can all put it in the past and kind of get back on the same page as Bulldogs and try to help all the kids at Garfield,” Roy said. “Not just the basketball ones.”
