Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Jackson out at Central
Coach says firing stems from QB transfer dispute
Glades Central fired coach Rashad Jackson after two seasons, Jackson told the Sun Sentinel on Wednesday.
“I just want to say I’m thankful and grateful for having the opportunity to come back home at my alma mater and make an impact and difference in the kids’ lives,” Jackson said. “I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to coach at Glades Central. To play here, to win a state title in 2006 and to be able to come back home ... is just a dream come true.”
Jackson’s firing was first reported by ESPN West Palm.
“We would like to thank Mr. Jackson for his contributions to the team,” Glades Central principal Melanie Bolden-Morris said in a press release. “Now that the football season is over, however, we will be taking part in a nationwide search to see who will be great for our team and bring our program to the next level.”
Jackson said his dismissal stems from a controversy that surrounded him and quarterback Garrison Kepley. Kepley transferred to Glades Central from Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., where Jackson once coached as the school’s defensive coordinator before he was hired at Glades Central.
Kepley attended a summer college trip with Jackson and 23 other players. Jackson was accused of providing impermissible benefits to Kepley. Kepley was suspended for the entire season, though his suspension was reduced to five games. Jackson was suspended for six games, and he lost his appeal.
“If I did anything wrong, it was definitely unknowingly,” Jackson said during his appeal hearing.
While Kepley was suspended, his parents sought legal relief and filed an injunction against the Florida High School Athletic Association in the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in West Palm Beach.
Jackson provided an affidavit in the injunction, in which he was critical of Glades Central principal Melanie Bolden-Morris.
“Bolden-Morris never did due diligence in providing me an opportunity to present information that would provide evidence that her allegations were false,” Jackson said. “During the self-investigation and self-reporting process, Principal Bolden-Morris intentionally failed to report all pertinent information that would provide evidence that her allegations were false. Principal Bolden-Morris was fully aware that she had information that was contrary to the allegations made in her self-report, however, she willingly withheld this information and self-reported false information anyway.”
On Wednesday, Jackson said those statements cost him his job.
“That was it,” Jackson said. “That was the reason ... It was all about Garrison. It wasn’t football-related. It wasn’t anything like that. It was all about that situation. I did a helluva job as football coach . ... It was a personal thing that the principal couldn’t get over.”
On the field, Jackson found success. The Raiders went 11-7 during his tenure. In 2020, Glades Central went undefeated in the regular season before falling to Dillard in the Class 6A-1A Tri-County tournament. He was the Sun Sentinel’s Palm Beach County Class 5A-1A co-coach of the year and won the Sam Budnyk Coach of the Year award from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The Raiders had a tougher 2021 season,
going 6-6. They still earned a playoff berth and won a quarterfinal game against American Heritage-Delray.
Still, Jackson said he is proud of what he accomplished at Glades Central.
“I’m very proud of the work that I put in and the sacrifice that I made during my time as the head coach,” Jackson said. “I did a lot of great things. I took over a program that was 1-9 before
I got here with no kids signing anywhere to college. I came In, man, and you’re talking in two years [and] I got 28 scholarships [for
players].”