A former team manager told me her relationship with Chris Gaither began while she was a student at Martha Layne Collins High School. "He has been able to hide for so long under the assumption that he is a good Christian pillar of this community, and I think it was important to say something"

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A men's basketball coach at Martha Layne Collins High School has been suspended with pay following allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate communication with current or former students.

Chris Gaither, who coaches the school's basketball team, was suspended Thursday morning after multiple people came forward with concerns to Shelby County Schools officials this week, according to the district spokesperson.

This is the second time Gaither has been under investigation for these kinds of allegations; the first investigation was launched last month and closed after board attorneys found no evidence of wrongdoing, according to a district spokesperson.

The new case against him

The investigation was "reopened", according to district officials, on December 5th, the day after Hayley Weddle, a 2014 graduate of the school, submitted a written statement to district leaders detailing her interactions with Gaither when she was a student and team manager.

But days later, on December 9th, Gaither was still allowed in the school- and still on the sidelines coaching a game that night.