Judge Rules Against Kinnan in Suit Against School Board, Superintendent, and Investigator

BRADENTON — After nearly a decade, the 12th Judicial Circuit has issued final judgments regarding a lawsuit filed by former Manatee High School Football Coach and Athletic Director Joe Kinnan against the Manatee School Board, former superintendent Rick Mills, and former district investigator Troy Pumphrey. The judge ruled in favor of each of the three defendants.

The suit stemmed from a 10-day suspension Kinnan received in 2013 after it was discovered that he had knowingly allowed a baseball coach to remain employed without the proper certification from the state.  In addition to allowing Coach Dwayne Strong to work without being certified, it was also discovered that the baseball program's booster club was making payments to Strong's private instructional academy, a violation of state rules. 

Kinnan first went on medical leave and then retired before the suspension took effect. The school's athletic department was ultimately fined $13,300 and placed on probation by the Florida High School Athletic Association for violating its policies. The school could have faced over $300,000 in fines, but the governing body showed leniency, considering the district had self-reported the issues following an internal investigation by then MCSD OPS Investigator Troy Pumphrey.

Pumphrey was investigating allegations made by parents of players that there was a pay-for-play system in which members of the team who did not pay to attend Strong's The Sandlot @5-Tools Baseball camp had it made clear to them that participation would impact their playing time. Kinnan was quoted in the Bradenton Herald as saying he learned of the infractions and informed then-principal Don Sauer, stressing the need to report the information to the district and the FHSAA.

However, Pumphrey told TBT at the time that when he interviewed Sauer and Kinnan on October 1, 2013, both men told him that it was the first time they had been made aware of the issue and that it was Pumphrey, a former FHSAA exployee, who informed both men that the organization would need to be notified. Rick Mills told TBT at the time that he was troubled by what he saw as Kinnan seeming to mislead the public about his role in the events deliberately.

The FHSAA report determined that Manatee's baseball program had violated 7 of its policies and that 19 students had broken rules regarding camps and/or clinics. Most of the violations centered around mandatory practices and other activities at Strong's facility, which were also held outside of the designated season and improperly funded by the school through the team's booster club. Manatee High's entire athletic department was on administrative probation until June 1, 2015, and the baseball program was on probation until June 1, 2016.

Although he admitted that he should have had more oversight over certain issues, Kinnan vehemently disputed the suspension and requested an administrative hearing, which was scheduled for April 2014 but never took place because Kinnan stated that he couldn't participate while he was on leave. Upon his retirement, the district dropped the pending administrative complaint against Kinnan. However, Pam Stewart, then Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida, filed an administrative complaint against Kinnan that July, seeking disciplinary action over the issue.

The lawsuit named Mills and Pumphrey as defendants, along with the school district and the school board. Kinnan’s wife, Linda, was also listed as a plaintiff. The Kinnans were suing for defamation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with a contractual relationship, negligence, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, civil conspiracy, and loss of consortium.

Much of Kinnan's case was dismissed in 2017. However, the remaining portions continued to drag on at great expense. Mills took over as superintendent in 2013, during a period when the district was embroiled in several scandals.  His predecessor, Tim McGonegal, had resigned after acknowledging to the board that he had been covering up a large budget deficit.

The following year, while the board was interviewing for McGonegal's replacement, Rod Frazier, one of Kinnan's assistant football coaches at Manatee High, was arrested for having improper sexual contact with a student. Multiple administrators faced charges of failure to report the incident to the proper authorities. Mills was brought in mainly for his outsider status, but his reform efforts rankled some board members and administrators. He retired in 2015. The final orders mark the culmination of a lengthy and costly chapter in the Manatee School District's history.