From Deseret News archives:
Justices back Lehi coach
The Utah Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Lehi High School coach could proceed with a defamation lawsuit against a group of highly critical parents after they sparked a campaign to oust him from his position.
The ruling states that coaches and other educators, such as teachers, are not considered to be "public officials" for the purposes of defamation. Under state law, public officials who want to sue for defamation must prove that the people who defamed them had malicious intent.
The Supreme Court's ruling therefore makes it easier for coaches and teachers to sue parents who they believe have smeared their reputations.
In their unanimous ruling, the justices found that high school coaches are not on the same level as a government official whose policymaking duties can affect the life, liberty or property of citizens.
"So viewed, high school athletics can claim no 'apparent importance,"' the ruling states. The justices did note that coaches "can be significant figures in a student's life" and that parents of athletes can "experience directly the joys, sorrows and injustices of athletic competition."
The ruling stems from a case involving Michael O'Connor, who served as Lehi High School's girls basketball coach from 2003 to 2004. At that time, several parents of team members began to complain that O'Connor was yelling at and demeaning the girls and paying special attention to one star player while not giving other players enough time on the court.
The parents complained to the principal and accused O'Connor of mismanaging team funds in an attempt to oust him. A school investigation found no evidence that the coach had misused team funds.
Tensions between O'Connor and parents grew, sparking a group of parents, friends and relatives to begin a letter-writing campaign. The group also appealed to the Alpine School District. Ultimately, Lehi High's principal removed O'Connor as basketball coach, but O'Connor stayed on as the school's track and girls golf coach and as a teacher of sociology and American issues.
O'Connor sued the parents for defamation, but a 4th District judge threw out the lawsuit, finding that O'Connor was considered a public official.
Justices pointed to U.S. Supreme Court cases that limit the scope of who can be considered a public official. In one case, a university's athletic director was not considered a public official by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Utah justices noted that if a college athletic director is not a public official, a high school coach could not be considered differently.
