Brandon Roy, a Garfield High School alum whose number hangs in the rafters, a University of Washington legend and a three-time NBA All-Star, coached Garfield to three state championships. (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times, 2024)
Brandon Roy, a Garfield High School alum whose number hangs in the rafters, a University of Washington legend and a three-time NBA All-Star, coached Garfield to three state championships. (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times, 2024)
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By
David Gutman
Seattle Times staff reporter
Last September, three weeks into the school year, Garfield High School fired its boys basketball coach. It wasn’t just any coach.
He had led Garfield to three state championships. He is a Garfield alum whose number hangs in the rafters, a University of Washington legend and a three-time NBA All-Star. Brandon Roy is arguably the greatest basketball player Seattle has ever produced.
When Roy was fired there was no public explanation and for the last six months neither Garfield nor Seattle Public Schools has said anything about why he was let go.
Records and emails obtained by The Seattle Times through a public records request now show Roy was fired after an allegation that he was part of a recruiting push involving an NBA agent that offered a student cash, a car and an apartment if he transferred to the Seattle school.
Roy, 41, denied the allegation in a letter to Seattle Public Schools last fall but was nonetheless fired two days later.
“I’ve never recruited a kid to play at Garfield High School,” Roy said in an email last week to The Seattle Times.
Roy disputed that he was fired, pointing out that he was invited to reapply for his job in the future. He said he was considering the possibility of returning to coaching at Garfield for his daughter’s senior year.
Roy said he learned of his dismissal from an email Garfield sent to parents saying the basketball coaches were being let go, and that he never spoke with anyone at the school about the decision.
The recruiting allegation came from a rival school — Auburn Mountainview High School — that first alerted Garfield to its concern last spring, then escalated the matter to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association just as the school year was starting in September.
Garfield Principal Tarance Hart signed the letter dismissing Roy. Hart is on leave and could not be reached for comment.
Garfield Athletic Director Chris Englund said Roy is “deeply missed by the school and its students” and that he could not speak to the decision-making around Roy’s dismissal.
“Brandon Roy is a pillar of the Garfield and Central District community,” Englund wrote last week in an email to The Seattle Times. “He has given back to his community in countless ways and positively impacted the lives of hundreds of young people across Seattle. He always reached out to ask how he could help and did so with genuine care and concern for students.”
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Seattle Public Schools declined to answer questions about Roy’s firing or the recruiting allegation.
“Garfield High School decided to go in a different direction this school year, hiring new athletics leadership and coaching staff for its basketball program,” Bev Redmond, the district’s chief of staff, wrote in an email. “Seattle Public Schools thanks Brandon Roy for his history of service and contribution to our schools as a student athlete, coach, and parent.”
Sean Bessette, a WIAA spokesperson, said there was a reported recruiting violation, but there have been no findings by Seattle Public Schools, the Metro League or the WIAA.
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“The alleged violation will be heard by the WIAA Executive Board later this month,” Bessette wrote.
Roy’s coaching career began in 2016 at Nathan Hale High School, where his team — featuring three future NBA players and at least four others who later played in college — went undefeated and beat Garfield in the state championship game. He was named Naismith National High School Coach of the Year and was part of Seattle Public Schools’ inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class.
Roy left for Garfield after just one season at Hale, with two of his best returning players transferring with him. He won state titles with Garfield in 2018, 2020 and 2023, while missing two seasons as he dealt with a divorce and multiple surgeries.
Garfield girls basketball coach Roydell Smiley — previously an assistant coach to Roy on the boys team — was released along with Roy last fall. Records show there was a seemingly unrelated investigation involving the girls basketball team.
The emails The Seattle Times obtained — from Seattle Public Schools — are incomplete. They were requested in September but provided this month. SPS has said more emails are forthcoming, but not until July.
The Garfield allegation was laid out in dozens of emails among school officials last year.
Auburn Mountainview Principal Terri Herren called Garfield in June to report the alleged recruiting. Hart, the Garfield principal, then summarized the allegations in an email to several Seattle Public Schools officials.
According to Hart’s email, relaying Herren’s allegations: Sometime around Memorial Day last year, an Auburn Mountainview basketball player told his coach that he had received a phone call encouraging him to transfer to Garfield.
It was a four-way call, with Roy joining at some point, Hart wrote. The student said he was offered an apartment, a car, $2,000 and paid driver’s ed classes if he would transfer to Garfield.
“The family is in a tough financial situation, and so this is appealing to them, but the whole family can’t move,” Herren said, according to Hart’s email. “Only the student and his brother are looking to take the apartment in Seattle to transfer to Garfield.”
What followed was a flurry of emails among Seattle Schools officials with the subject line “AC PRIV GHS Basketball Allegations,” meaning Attorney Client Privilege, Garfield High School. Several of the emails were almost entirely redacted.
Hart tried calling Roy but didn’t get a response. District leadership later told him not to contact Roy.
“Please do not speak to Brandon Roy on this, Principal Hart,” wrote Natasha Walicki, SPS director of investigations and compliance. An investigator “will reach out when he’s at that stage as this has shifted to a central office investigation.”
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Garfield reported the alleged violation to the WIAA and Seattle Public Schools launched an internal investigation last June.
Herren told the SPS investigator the call to the Auburn student was organized by “an NBA agent and then Brandon Roy joined the call midway through.”
After Garfield’s report to the WIAA, that group’s director wrote to the school about a similar allegation from a couple of years ago, regarding a player who transferred from Eastside Catholic to Garfield.
“The student was a boys’ basketball player. The previous school statement shared that there were rumors of housing, vehicle, etc similar to what you recently shared,” Mick Hoffman, WIAA executive director, wrote.
On Sept. 10, Auburn Mountainview reiterated its allegation, this time by filing its complaint with the WIAA.
“Garfield staff promised [the student] an apartment, a car and money to attend Garfield for the 2025-26 school year,” the complaint says. “This was confirmed with multiple sources, but [the student] did not give a statement or confirm directly with us.”
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“We were told (by the district investigator) without a direct statement
from [the student] there was really nothing that would come of this,”
Herren and Auburn Mountainview Athletic Director Chris Carr did not respond last week to requests for comment.
The next morning, Roy emailed from his iPhone: “I spoke with every coach on my staff and those allegations are completely false!!!”
On Sept. 22, the WIAA asked Garfield for its response to the allegation.
Garfield answered the same day, including a fuller denial from Roy.
“To Whom It May Concern,” Roy wrote. “I, Brandon Roy, affirm the following:
“I have confirmed with my coaches and staff that at no time were any conversations held with the student or family members in question. Verifying, no promises of money, housing, transportation, or any other benefits were ever made to any student-athlete or their parent/guardian to influence enrollment decisions,” Roy wrote.
“These allegations are entirely false. My staff and I unequivocally deny that any recruiting violations of this nature have occurred within my program.”
Roy was notified of his firing Sept. 24.
“The District is ending your hourly employment based upon Garfield High School’s decision to move in a different direction and build a program centered on the whole child,” Hart wrote. “This is not a disciplinary action or an investigation.”
Hart wrote that Roy was welcome to reapply in the future.
Roy said that the next day he had his daughter return his keys to the high school.
WIAA Board meeting minutes — from November and January — said that an allegation involving Garfield boys basketball needed to be reviewed.
Garfield boys basketball went just 7-17 this year, the first losing season since before Roy arrived.
David Gutman: 206-464-2926 or dgutman@seattletimes.com. David Gutman covers local politics and King County government at The Seattle Times, reporting on how leaders and institutions impact the lives of everyday people.
Brandon Roy, a Garfield High School alum whose number hangs in the rafters, a University of Washington legend and a three-time NBA All-Star, coached Garfield to three state championships. (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times, 2024)
Skip Ad
By
David Gutman
Seattle Times staff reporter
Last September, three weeks into the school year, Garfield High School fired its boys basketball coach. It wasn’t just any coach.
He had led Garfield to three state championships. He is a Garfield alum whose number hangs in the rafters, a University of Washington legend and a three-time NBA All-Star. Brandon Roy is arguably the greatest basketball player Seattle has ever produced.
When Roy was fired there was no public explanation and for the last six months neither Garfield nor Seattle Public Schools has said anything about why he was let go.
Records and emails obtained by The Seattle Times through a public records request now show Roy was fired after an allegation that he was part of a recruiting push involving an NBA agent that offered a student cash, a car and an apartment if he transferred to the Seattle school.
Roy, 41, denied the allegation in a letter to Seattle Public Schools last fall but was nonetheless fired two days later.
“I’ve never recruited a kid to play at Garfield High School,” Roy said in an email last week to The Seattle Times.
Roy disputed that he was fired, pointing out that he was invited to reapply for his job in the future. He said he was considering the possibility of returning to coaching at Garfield for his daughter’s senior year.
Roy said he learned of his dismissal from an email Garfield sent to parents saying the basketball coaches were being let go, and that he never spoke with anyone at the school about the decision.
The recruiting allegation came from a rival school — Auburn Mountainview High School — that first alerted Garfield to its concern last spring, then escalated the matter to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association just as the school year was starting in September.
Garfield Principal Tarance Hart signed the letter dismissing Roy. Hart is on leave and could not be reached for comment.
Garfield Athletic Director Chris Englund said Roy is “deeply missed by the school and its students” and that he could not speak to the decision-making around Roy’s dismissal.
“Brandon Roy is a pillar of the Garfield and Central District community,” Englund wrote last week in an email to The Seattle Times. “He has given back to his community in countless ways and positively impacted the lives of hundreds of young people across Seattle. He always reached out to ask how he could help and did so with genuine care and concern for students.”
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Seattle Public Schools declined to answer questions about Roy’s firing or the recruiting allegation.
“Garfield High School decided to go in a different direction this school year, hiring new athletics leadership and coaching staff for its basketball program,” Bev Redmond, the district’s chief of staff, wrote in an email. “Seattle Public Schools thanks Brandon Roy for his history of service and contribution to our schools as a student athlete, coach, and parent.”
Sean Bessette, a WIAA spokesperson, said there was a reported recruiting violation, but there have been no findings by Seattle Public Schools, the Metro League or the WIAA.
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“The alleged violation will be heard by the WIAA Executive Board later this month,” Bessette wrote.
Roy’s coaching career began in 2016 at Nathan Hale High School, where his team — featuring three future NBA players and at least four others who later played in college — went undefeated and beat Garfield in the state championship game. He was named Naismith National High School Coach of the Year and was part of Seattle Public Schools’ inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class.
Roy left for Garfield after just one season at Hale, with two of his best returning players transferring with him. He won state titles with Garfield in 2018, 2020 and 2023, while missing two seasons as he dealt with a divorce and multiple surgeries.
Garfield girls basketball coach Roydell Smiley — previously an assistant coach to Roy on the boys team — was released along with Roy last fall. Records show there was a seemingly unrelated investigation involving the girls basketball team.
The emails The Seattle Times obtained — from Seattle Public Schools — are incomplete. They were requested in September but provided this month. SPS has said more emails are forthcoming, but not until July.
An alleged phone call
In a shifting sports world where many college stars, and even some high school athletes, are cashing in on their fame, WIAA rules prohibit schools from using their athletic programs to recruit students. Schools are not allowed to offer financial incentives of any kind and aren’t even allowed to contact potential students about their sports teams.
Nonetheless, rumors of illegal recruiting have long been rampant. Last year, Roosevelt High School was punished — coaches were suspended, the principal was placed on leave, games were forfeited and at least six Seattle Public Schools employees were fined — for recruiting players to its football team.The Garfield allegation was laid out in dozens of emails among school officials last year.
Auburn Mountainview Principal Terri Herren called Garfield in June to report the alleged recruiting. Hart, the Garfield principal, then summarized the allegations in an email to several Seattle Public Schools officials.
According to Hart’s email, relaying Herren’s allegations: Sometime around Memorial Day last year, an Auburn Mountainview basketball player told his coach that he had received a phone call encouraging him to transfer to Garfield.
It was a four-way call, with Roy joining at some point, Hart wrote. The student said he was offered an apartment, a car, $2,000 and paid driver’s ed classes if he would transfer to Garfield.
“The family is in a tough financial situation, and so this is appealing to them, but the whole family can’t move,” Herren said, according to Hart’s email. “Only the student and his brother are looking to take the apartment in Seattle to transfer to Garfield.”
What followed was a flurry of emails among Seattle Schools officials with the subject line “AC PRIV GHS Basketball Allegations,” meaning Attorney Client Privilege, Garfield High School. Several of the emails were almost entirely redacted.
Hart tried calling Roy but didn’t get a response. District leadership later told him not to contact Roy.
“Please do not speak to Brandon Roy on this, Principal Hart,” wrote Natasha Walicki, SPS director of investigations and compliance. An investigator “will reach out when he’s at that stage as this has shifted to a central office investigation.”
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Garfield reported the alleged violation to the WIAA and Seattle Public Schools launched an internal investigation last June.
Herren told the SPS investigator the call to the Auburn student was organized by “an NBA agent and then Brandon Roy joined the call midway through.”
After Garfield’s report to the WIAA, that group’s director wrote to the school about a similar allegation from a couple of years ago, regarding a player who transferred from Eastside Catholic to Garfield.
“The student was a boys’ basketball player. The previous school statement shared that there were rumors of housing, vehicle, etc similar to what you recently shared,” Mick Hoffman, WIAA executive director, wrote.
On Sept. 10, Auburn Mountainview reiterated its allegation, this time by filing its complaint with the WIAA.
“Garfield staff promised [the student] an apartment, a car and money to attend Garfield for the 2025-26 school year,” the complaint says. “This was confirmed with multiple sources, but [the student] did not give a statement or confirm directly with us.”
Advertising
Skip Ad
“We were told (by the district investigator) without a direct statement
from [the student] there was really nothing that would come of this,”
Herren and Auburn Mountainview Athletic Director Chris Carr did not respond last week to requests for comment.
‘I unequivocally deny’
Englund, Garfield’s athletic director, forwarded Auburn Mountainview’s WIAA complaint to Roy at 10 p.m. on Sept. 16.The next morning, Roy emailed from his iPhone: “I spoke with every coach on my staff and those allegations are completely false!!!”
On Sept. 22, the WIAA asked Garfield for its response to the allegation.
Garfield answered the same day, including a fuller denial from Roy.
“To Whom It May Concern,” Roy wrote. “I, Brandon Roy, affirm the following:
“I have confirmed with my coaches and staff that at no time were any conversations held with the student or family members in question. Verifying, no promises of money, housing, transportation, or any other benefits were ever made to any student-athlete or their parent/guardian to influence enrollment decisions,” Roy wrote.
“These allegations are entirely false. My staff and I unequivocally deny that any recruiting violations of this nature have occurred within my program.”
Roy was notified of his firing Sept. 24.
“The District is ending your hourly employment based upon Garfield High School’s decision to move in a different direction and build a program centered on the whole child,” Hart wrote. “This is not a disciplinary action or an investigation.”
Hart wrote that Roy was welcome to reapply in the future.
Roy said that the next day he had his daughter return his keys to the high school.
WIAA Board meeting minutes — from November and January — said that an allegation involving Garfield boys basketball needed to be reviewed.
Garfield boys basketball went just 7-17 this year, the first losing season since before Roy arrived.
David Gutman: 206-464-2926 or dgutman@seattletimes.com. David Gutman covers local politics and King County government at The Seattle Times, reporting on how leaders and institutions impact the lives of everyday people.
