There’s lots of blame to go around
June 22, 2018
Woman accused of stealing from an area church
June 25, 2018Washington’s resignation.
Williams has not spoken publicly since the WWL report, but he did take to social media to thank people for support. In the Facebook post, which has since been deleted, he said the “initial situation was on me,” but added that it “didn’t make any sense” to talk about the Biddy team.
The post in its entirety is below – post with the exact grammar and spelling used on Facebook.
“I appreciate all my family and friends for their support, I can’t go into detail cuz obviously some people out there looking to bring me down … The initial situation was on me but bringing these kids into it didn’t make any sense, I still love my city regardless of the few snakes…. If you know me then you know me and if you don’t I can understand your feelings. I guess its really NOT innocent until proven guilty smh #ItsInGodsHands,” Williams said.
For Washington, his resignation marks the first time in almost 20 years that TPR will have someone other than him running its youth recreation department.
The outgoing director was a championship-winning coach at Ellender Memorial High School before leaving the school system to become TPR’s director almost 20 years ago.
In his time with TPR, the organization’s Biddy Basketball teams have enjoyed great success, winning several championships – especially in recent years.
On social media, several Houma natives said they supported Williams and a post made last week urged citizens to attend yesterday’s parish council meeting to urge Dove to consider not accepting Washington’s resignation. That post generated dozens of comments from former coaches and players who said that Washington impacted their lives in a positive way.
But others don’t feel the same way.
Three parents spoke to The Times this weekend and they all said they didn’t think Williams should have been part of a coaching staff with his legal situation still in flux.
The parents asked to remain anonymous because of fear that their children would be given unfair treatment later in their careers if coached by someone who is friends with Williams.
One parent said the situation was “disgraceful,” and another said that she doesn’t think her child will play for TPR next year.
“These are kids,” the parent said. “This is not for money or for millions and millions of dollars like the NBA. These are kids. They are playing and they are having fun. For me to have to sit down this week and have my child ask me why Coach Derrian was on TV, it’s just sad. This should have never happened. And it’s just sad that this is the world that we live in. You think you can trust someone but you just never know.”
‘These are kids. This is not for money or for millions and millions of dollars like the NBA.’
