KY school district fires coach under investigation following ‘grooming’ allegations
Note: The Herald-Leader does not typically identify victims of abuse or alleged abuse. However, this story includes the name of an individual who has come forward in a publicly circulated open letter with allegations against a Kentucky public school employee.
A suspended Kentucky high school basketball coach accused of grooming an underage high school student has been fired, although a Shelby County Public Schools district spokesperson won’t say whether the two are linked.
Chris Gaither, the head boys’ basketball coach at Martha Layne Collins High School, was placed on a paid leave Dec. 11 amid an ongoing investigation by the school district.
“As of January 15th, Chris Gaither is no longer employed with Shelby County Public Schools,” district spokesperson Joshua Rhodes told the Herald-Leader Monday. “The employee was terminated by (Superintendent Joshua) Matthews, citing multiple Board of Education policies. However, due process continues.”
Asked whether the grooming allegations detailed in a publicly circulated open letter in December led to the firing, Rhodes said “multiple board policies, not a single policy.”
A coach at Collins since the 2011-12 season, Gaither was previously placed on leave with pay from Nov. 17 to 25, 2025, but reinstated briefly before being placed on leave again in December.
“Allowing him to go back into the classroom would be a huge disservice to me, the girls who have similar stories involving him and future female students,” former student Hayley Weddle wrote in the letter to the school district that was also shared online. “I understand now that this man is a predator and he should be held responsible for his actions.”
In the letter, which was posted on Facebook last month, Weddle alleges Gaither messaged her over text and Snapchat, often late at night, while she was a student and team manager from fall 2012 to her graduation in 2014. As Weddle got closer to graduating, the messages became more provocative, including asking questions about her sexual history, she wrote.
Two weeks after graduating in June 2014, Gaither allegedly kissed Weddle while she was babysitting his children at his house, according to the letter. Gaither invited Weddle over the next day, giving Weddle the impression he was going to explain his actions, but instead he allegedly convinced her to have sex, her letter reads.
The Herald-Leader has reached out to Gaither’s attorney for comment.
“School districts are limited in what they can comment on during personnel investigations due to required due process. Once those processes have fully concluded, we may be able to provide additional information,” Rhodes said of Gaither’s firing.
After he was briefly reinstated at the beginning of this season, Collins went 3-1 with Gaither on the sideline. The Titans are 6-10 overall and 2-1 in 30th District play under interim coach Chris George.
Gaither’s career record was 297-150 at Collins. He won 8th Region titles in 2015, 2017 and 2020. The Titans reached the Boys’ Sweet 16 quarterfinals in 2017, but were ousted in the first round in 2015. The 2020 state tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic.
This story was originally published January 19, 2026 at 4:35 PM.