Just over a week after the Duncanville boys and girls basketball programs were hit with stiff penalties by the UIL, the school district’s superintendent has reassigned multiple athletics officials.
Superintendent Marc Smith has reassigned athletic director Dwight Weaver, boys head coach David Peavy, and girls head coach LaJeanna Howard, the district announced on Thursday.
Weaver has been reassigned to serve as a campus administrator, filling an existing vacancy. Meanwhile, Peavy and Howard will be “reassigned to fill vacancies within the district that are in alignment with their teaching certification areas,” Duncanville ISD said in a news release.
The district did not specify the positions the three officials would take over.
Last week, UIL’s state executive committee suspended Peavy and Howard for a year over the violations.
The committee also gave the two coaches three years of probation and a reprimand from the UIL. Weaver was also reprimanded.
The penalties also included the boys team forfeiting its 2022 state championship and the girls team being banned from this season’s playoffs.
“This change in leadership is the first of a multi-step plan to strengthen our athletic programs and our national reputation as a powerhouse athletics organization,” Smith said in a statement. “It is also imperative, and my desire as Superintendent, that Duncanville ISD is known as an example for how it follows and enforces UIL rules within its programs. We will win and show everyone we follow the rules.”
Assistant athletic director Kenya Larkin-Landers has been named the interim athletic director.
Duncanville also announced that it would create a new athletic compliance officer position within the athletics department.
The postseason ban imposed against the 11-time state champions girls team, which came in at No.4 in the preseason rankings, was over a recruiting and “school practice and game restrictions” violation, according to the UIL.
The penalties against the boys basketball team stemmed from them fielding an ineligible player.
The top-ranked 6A team in Texas heading into this season was forced to forfeit all games in which then-senior 5-star point guard Anthony Black played, which included the 2022 state championship game.
The UIL ruled that Black was ineligible after transferring from Coppell to Duncanville in the summer of 2021.
A day after announcing the reassignments, Duncanville announced it would also voluntarily opt out of UIL postseason play.
The voluntary withdrawal from the playoffs comes a few days before UIL’s state executive committee was scheduled to meet about further potential penalties for the program.
Duncanville ISD Superintendent Marc Smith said the decision was in the program’s best interest.
“We believe the UIL has a better understanding of our situation and will not impose any additional penalties if we opt out of postseason play this school year,” Smith said. “Duncanville ISD respects the UIL, we are a proud member of the organization, and all of us want to expedite decisions that prove our commitment to winning with honor by following UIL rules.”
With the voluntary opt-out of the playoffs, the worst-case scenario for the state executive committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday is a suspension from competition, including practices, for up to three years.
Tarasha Holland, the mother of Duncanville’s 5-star Texas commit, Ron Holland, posted on Twitter, “This is not acceptable!!!!!”
She also posted a statement.
“On behalf of the Duncanville High School Varsity Basketball team, the parents have decided to release a statement that we disagree with the actions of Duncanville’s Superintendent, Dr. Marc Smith, and Duncanville ISD to release a press release today that they are willing to forgo our participation in the basketball postseason for 2022-23.
“This decision has basically been forced on the district without the involvement of the parents or student athletes’ input, which we all deem immoral and unethical based on UIL’s decision to punish the district and force executive leadership to speak on our behalf and dismantle an entire athletic program.”
