Additional reporting and research done by Matthew Klein and Scarlett Dempsey.

In early December, Willamette Week broke stories about the tort claims between several Lincoln boys basketball players and boys basketball head coach Heather Seely-Roberts. A tort claim indicates an intention to sue.

One article explains that in their claim the players allege Coach Seely-Roberts lied about the time of basketball tryouts and “blocked parents from accessing her Instagram account in the fall, thus limiting their access to team-related communications.”

Another Willamette Week article explains Roberts’ tort claim, which argued she was “[s]ubjected to a smear campaign by parents irate that their son didn’t get more playing time, and the district failed to protect her.” Seely-Roberts alleges that PPS has violated federal Title IX regulations that protect staff and students from gender-based discrimination.

Among other concerns, the torts raise the issue of how parents and coaches communicate with each other. 

Principal Peyton Chapman says that while there are no written PPS-specific guidelines that outline how parents and coaches are ideally supposed to communicate, she says there are protocols that help facilitate healthy relationships. 

“In terms of protocols, we often refer to the role of the family,” said Chapman. “… If any concerns come up, we say that the way that we try to problem-solve is that you [and your player] talk to the coach first.” 

Athletic Director Matt Wiles says that there is time at the beginning of each season when parents learn general information about the upcoming sports season. 

“There’s a fall and winter and spring parent night meeting across the sports, and we encourage families to come. At that time, I think the athletic director and the coaches do a good job of saying: ‘here’s the protocol,’” said Wiles. 

Coaches must have a method of communication for their players and parents, said Wiles. However, there is no set platform that coaches must use. 

“I think there’s a wide range of methods across the district, and I think the district’s trying to increase standardization,” said Wiles.

The Cardinal Times contacted District Athletic Director Haskins but received no response. 

In efforts to see if another public school district had written guidelines on parent-coach communication, The Cardinal Times reached out to Beaverton School District.

Beaverton School District’s public communications officer Shellie Bailey-Shah wrote in an email that they are in the process of transitioning all student-family-coach communications to ParentSquare. 

“All coaches participate in yearly online training including the Code of Professional Conduct,” wrote Bailey-Shah. “… It also includes examples of appropriate and inappropriate interactions between students and staff when communicating electronically and personally.” 

The Director of Media Communications for OSAA, Nate Lowery, said that written guidelines are up to the individual schools. 

“The OSAA does not have a specific written rule in the handbook about parent-coach interactions,” said Lowery. “… Most written guidelines … are completed at the local level by the schools and school districts.”

The Cardinal Times contacted several local private high schools to ask if they have any written guidelines. Jesuit did not respond. La Salle declined to comment. 

Central Catholic shared that they have a parent agreement that must be signed before a student participates in sports. While the agreement outlines the recommended behavior of students and parents, there are no specific guidelines about how parents and coaches must communicate with each other.