The Anderson Union High School District Board of Trustees has said “no thank you” to a controversial former West Valley High School Football Coach who was seeking the job again. Greg Grandell was Head Football Coach at the school from 1993 to 2020, when he resigned in the midst of a hazing scandal. A lawsuit was filed in 2021 against the district and Grandell. The suit by Barr and Mudford representing students and their families laid out in graphic detail the ritualized use of a PVC pipe with a tennis ball on the end of it known to varsity football team members as the “PIYA Stick”. The suit said that in 2019 and 2020, at least four members of the team reported the use of the stick as a tool of sexual assault and humiliation against numerous teammates. When the situation was reported to Coach Grandell, he reportedly did nothing to stop it but instead told the team members that anyone discussing the situation with any outside party would be kicked off the team. He later allegedly contacted a student and tried to convince him to drop the suit by saying people could lose their jobs. Claims were filed with the district, but they were denied. The civil suit was settled for an undisclosed amount. A lot of Grandell supporters, including former players, showed up for Wednesday night’s meeting, but the board voted unanimously to deny Grandell’s application.
-Steve Gibson