JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bartram Trail head football coach Cory Johns has been given a three-game suspension from the Florida High School Athletic Association for contact with a player who wasn’t enrolled at the school.
In a letter sent from athletic director Ben Windle to parents on Friday afternoon and obtained by News4JAX, Johns will miss three games for being in communication with a student-athlete who wasn’t enrolled at Bartram Trail. The letter said that there were no “recruiting violations” found, and Johns has accepted the punishment and won’t appeal, which is an option given to schools, athletes and coaches in all cases involving punishment.
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Johns was suspended on Oct. 9 after the school uncovered a “potential violation” involving Johns, and self-reported the violation to the FHSAA.
The FHSAA fined the school $250 and received one-year administrative probation for the violation, which are standard under the 37.3 penalties section.
“We have been informed that there was no finding of recruiting violations. However, the review determined ‘Bartram Trail’s football coach, Cory Johns, engaged in text communication with a student who was not enrolled in Bartram Trail,’ which is not in keeping with our school’s standards of professionalism and conduct,” the letter said.
“As a result, and in accordance with the FHSAA sanction, Coach Johns has been issued a three-game suspension. Pending a professional practices review, Coach Johns will be eligible to return after our Buchholz game [Oct. 23].
“Coach Johns has accepted responsibility and will be not appealing the decision by the FHSAA. Coach [Tyler] Thomas will remain the interim head coach until Coach Johns returns.”
Johns was found to have been in violation of Policy 37.1.1 and 37.2.1 which covers “unethical acts” which “refers to any behavior or action by a coach or other representative of a school’s athletic interests that violates the principles of fairness, integrity, and respect for the players, the competition, or the sport itself.”
The FHSAA’s report said: “In accordance with Policy 37.3.2, Cory Johns will be ineligible to coach or attend an interscholastic football contest, at any level for three (3) contests. Any contests Cory Johns has not coached or attended will count toward the three (3) contest suspension.”
The three-game punishment was the same given to former Nease defensive coordinator Robert Garth last month. Garth was alleged to have contacted a student-athlete on social media who didn’t attend Nease.
In the initial complaint about Garth, the player’s mother said she didn’t know the coach and didn’t know why he’d be reaching out to her son. Garth’s suspension was cut in half when the mother amended her statement because it was the player’s father who reached out to Garth to see if he could assist with his son’s college recruitment.