# Wiki page for HS Football coach Rush Propst - You could not make this stuff up! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624 "2015-12-06T17:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/1 "2015-12-06T17:03:09Z")
[This news item was in Gawker](http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/enraged-football-coach-head-butts-player-gives-self-he-1746359486) Which led to [this wiki page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Propst) (a HS coach with his own page!) You have to read it to get the full flavor but if someone told me this guy’s story sans corroboration I would think they were lying. Successful HS football who is a BSD in every sense of the word. Extramarital affairs, MTV star, out of wedlock kids, secret families, very successful W-L record, investigative reporter fired for looking into his background, protected by the Superintendent of schools, heat butting players, mysterious player grade changing by a Vice Principal he is having one of his many affairs with and banging everything with a vagina that will stand still long enough. All this drama for … a high school football coach?! Until I read this I did not get the full picture of what a BFD HS football is in some communities. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/2 "2015-12-06T17:18:49Z")
You are likely being whooshed by a viral marketing campaign. Do you really think that stuff would be allowed in a real school? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/3 "2015-12-06T17:30:38Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > You are likely being whooshed by a viral marketing campaign. Do you really think that stuff would be allowed in a real school? The revision history goes back to 2010. And this is in the South. Anything goes when it comes to football. Same as Texas. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/4 "2015-12-06T18:04:31Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > You are likely being whooshed by a viral marketing campaign. Do you really think that stuff would be allowed in a real school? Normally no, hence my surprise that it was. Re your concern that the page is a fake there are dozens of reference links at the bottom for verification all of which check out. Here’s a USA Today link > **[Hoover (Ala.) High coach agrees to step down - USATODAY.com](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2007-10-30-hoover_N.htm)** > > Hoover (Ala.) School football coach Rush Propst resigned Tuesday night but will coach the rest of the team's games this season. Propst and members of the Hoover School Board signed an agreement just before Tuesday's board meeting that covered his... > [@](#): > > Propst’s resignation comes one day after School Board President Donna Frazier joined School Board member Suzy Baker in publicly calling for Propst’s ouster following an investigation that cost $151,000. > > In the last month, a vice principal at the school resigned because of a report by a retired federal judge and the school was forced to forfeit four of this season’s wins because of an ineligible player. > > “In my personal and humble opinion, I do not feel that Coach Propst has taken any responsibility for his actions whatsoever,” Frazier said before the meeting. “I really and truly feel like this school system cannot begin the healing process until Coach Propst steps down.” > > Last spring, then-Hoover athletics director Jerry Browning raised concerns that football players were receiving preferential academic treatment. > > That led to a 68-page report by retired federal judge Sam Pointer Jr. that was made public this month. Among the findings: > > • Football players’ grades were changed without their teachers’ knowledge. > > • Athletes received special treatment, such as multiple retests not afforded other students. > > • Propst and former principal Richard Bishop had delayed reporting infractions to the Alabama High School Athletics Association. > > The report also raised questions about various benefits Propst received beyond his salary. Since the report was made public: > > • Vice principal Carol Martin — closely linked to Propst and whose “advocacy on behalf of several football players…went beyond her responsibilities,” according to Pointer’s report — was reassigned because she pressured teachers to give academic preference to football players. Martin and Propst, who is married with children, have denied having a relationship. > > • The AHSAA ruled Hoover’s top receiver, Tristan Purifoy, was ineligible, and the team was forced to forfeit the four games it won when Purifoy played. > > Hoover gained greater attention the last two years when MTV filmed its reality program, Two-A-Days, following the football team during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/5 "2015-12-06T18:10:28Z")
Another interesting story here. This guy makes over 100,000 a year as a HS football coach, and over 200,000 with his pension from Alabama included. [Rush Propst is back on top, but still dreaming of becoming a college coach](http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/12/rush_propst_is_back_on_top_but.html) > [@](#): > > It all came crashing down in 2007. > > His first marriage dissolved in the most public way possible when a local reporter went on the Paul Finebaum Show and revealed Propst had a child out of wedlock. In actuality, Propst had three children with long-time girlfriend Stefnie Duck, who is now his wife. His personal reputation was left in tatters. > > He was accused of pressuring Hoover teachers to change player grades. He ultimately decided to resign from Hoover, the program he took to unprecedented success, and didn’t know where he’d go next. > > He thought he hit rock bottom. Then he learned he had throat cancer. > > He had to eat through a straw and lost more than 50 pounds. He could barely walk, let alone focus on football. > > It was the most trying time of Propst’s life. He already landed at Colquitt County in south Georgia, hungry for success, but couldn’t find a way to break through. > > He lost to the eventual state champion five years in a row. > > Propst started to think he’d never win another state championship. A nine-year wait was never in the plan. > > “I think I got a little bit spoiled,” Propst says. “People say Hoover has been spoiled, and I think they have been to a certain extent just like any program that wins a lot. But when you go nine years in between championships, it humbles you some.” > > Propst admits he was nervous heading into Saturday’s game after losing in his last two state championship games (2006 and 2010). Colquitt County was ready to play, though, and defeated Archer 28-24 in the Class AAAAAA game, giving the school its second state championship and first since 1994. It capped a perfect 15-0 season that saw his new school defeat Hoover 35-14 on Aug. 29. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/6 "2015-12-07T01:51:07Z")
Even knowing how popular high school football is (particularly in the South), I’m rather amazed by the fact that there are 1,409 articles under “Category: High school football coaches in the United States”. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/7 "2015-12-07T04:40:02Z")
> [@astro](#): > > All this drama for … a high school football coach?! Until I read this I did not get the full picture of what a BFD HS football is in some communities. All my High Schools just stick to minor things like keeping obsolete teaching positions or programs or unnecessary AD depts, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/8 "2015-12-07T04:47:52Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Successful HS football who is a BSD in every sense of the word. He’s a UNIX flavour? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/9 "2015-12-07T05:02:12Z")
I don’t know about the other stuff, but the “Extramarital affairs, MTV star, out of wedlock kids, secret families, very successful W-L record” is definitely all true. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/10 "2015-12-07T09:41:12Z")
All this stuff is mostly his own private business; but I’m surprised to learn every High School teacher in America _doesn_’t have such an extensive Wikipedia entry. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/11 "2015-12-07T17:15:26Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > I don’t know about the other stuff, but the “Extramarital affairs, MTV star, out of wedlock kids, secret families, very successful W-L record” is definitely all true. And, more than likely, why that guy hasn’t ever made the jump to coaching in college. He’s got a slightly better record than Art Briles did as a high school coach, but Briles made the jump to the college ranks about 15 years ago. My guess is that this guy is either really toxic, personality-wise, and/or the level of high school competition in Alabama isn’t all that great, relative to say… Florida, Texas or California, and a .761 winning record in rural Alabama isn’t all that impressive. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/12 "2015-12-07T18:24:51Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And, more than likely, why that guy hasn’t ever made the jump to coaching in college. He’s got a slightly better record than Art Briles did as a high school coach, but Briles made the jump to the college ranks about 15 years ago. > > My guess is that this guy is either really toxic, personality-wise, and/or the level of high school competition in Alabama isn’t all that great, relative to say… Florida, Texas or California, and a .761 winning record in rural Alabama isn’t all that impressive. Yeah, I’m sure he’s a total douchebag, but he’s been coaching at the highest level of HS Football in Georgia for the last seven years or so. That’s a big jump up from Alabama and probably only behind Texas, California and Florida in overall talent. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/13 "2015-12-08T01:10:44Z")
Well, maybe some people don’t want to work with/for such a dou… um, colorful character. Judging by my work history, I’m apparently not one of those intrepid souls. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/14 "2015-12-08T01:13:26Z")
the entire culture around high school football is fucking disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/15 "2015-12-08T03:15:23Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > the entire culture around high school football is fucking disgusting. Thank you for your input, we will take that into consideration. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-page-for-hs-football-coach-rush-propst-you-could-not-make-this-stuff-up/739624/16 "2015-12-08T05:48:41Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > the entire culture around high school football is fucking disgusting. Had a high school English teacher that claimed he would ask the football coaches if they could start this skinny nerd kid “because he has a shot at a state championship (science fair scholarship), and being a starting linebacker would really help his chances.” That was in retribution for the coaches’ requests to “Please bump Bullmoose Bukowski’s grades up to a B this semester, so he can play in the Tri-County Conference championship game.” And another additional anecdotal anecdote: A friend of my best friend in high school was the football captain, most “successful” guy in school… at our latest high school reunion, we all found out he’s been working at a used car lot for years. The rumor is he didn’t make it to/through college.