Shelby County basketball coach sues parents for defamation, now unexpectedly off the job

The lawsuit was filed against four parents, including Radio Personalities Amy Nic and Kelly K, earlier this year.

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A defamation lawsuit filed by a Shelby County high school basketball coach against four parents has taken a dramatic turn, with the coach now away from his position.

According to court documents, Chris Gaither, the head boys basketball coach at Martha Layne Collins High School, filed suit in June against Amy and Andrew Ballard and Kelly and Michael Higdon, claiming they spread false and malicious statements about him that damaged his reputation in the community and threatened his career, according to his complaint.

Since then, the Ballards haven't just denied the defamation claims- they launched counterclaims alleging Gaither ran a years-long scheme to collect unnecessary payments from parents through a personal Venmo account.

Shelby County Schools would not confirm the reason the coach is now off the job, only saying Coach Chris George would be stepping in, in Gaither's absence.

The coach's lawsuit

According to Gaither's complaint, Amy Ballard sent an email in January of this year to school administrators, which he says contained "defamatory, malicious, reckless, negligent, and/or false statements" about Gaither's actions, reputation, and character.

The email suggested Gaither had "misappropriated and/or stolen monies related to the basketball program at Collins High School", according to the court document.

About a month later, on February 20, Andrew Ballard sent an open records request to school officials seeking "all MLCHS financial records connected to the basketball program," specifically requesting records related to a "Titans Basketball" Venmo account operated by Gaither, according to the lawsuit.

Then in April, according to the complaint, Kelly Higdon sent an email to the athletic director at Christian Academy of Louisville, where Gaither was reportedly in discussions about a possible coaching position. Gaither alleges the email contained "reckless, false and defamatory statements" about Gaither's coaching skills, teaching abilities, and made allegations about misappropriation of funds, bullying and abusing players, and "fishing/grooming" of young girls and sexually inappropriate behavior toward minors, the complaint states.

That email was forwarded to other coaches and eventually made its way back to Gaither, according to his lawsuit.

Gaither claims the defendants also made similar statements on social media, through text messages, and in conversations with members of the school and basketball communities. He alleges none of the defendants attempted to meet with him about their concerns before publishing these statements.

The coach is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, an injunction to stop further defamatory statements, and attorney's fees.

The Ballards' story

The Ballards' response, filed in court documents, tells a very different story.

In their counterclaims, the Ballards allege that for three consecutive years- 2022, 2023, and 2024- Gaither directed them and other parents to send $175 annually to a Venmo account named "Titans Basketball" supposedly for their sons to attend Western Kentucky University basketball camps.

"The contact information for the Venmo Account at the time of the payments was Gaither's personal email address and phone number," the document states. The account was also connected to KY Titans Corporation, a Kentucky nonprofit corporation listing Gaither as the registered agent, officer, director, and incorporator, with his home address as the principal place of business, according to the court filing.

Here's the key allegation: "Martha Layne Collins High School informed the Ballards that parents did not and should not have paid for the Camps, because the school paid for them," the counterclaim states. "Martha Layne Collins High School (via its booster club) paid for the Camps."

The Ballards claim Gaither never informed parents that the camps were already covered by the school, and instead "represented to the parents that the funds were needed and used directly as enrollment fees for their sons' attendance at the Camps."

"The Venmo Account is not an account of Shelby County Public Schools," their filing emphasizes, alleging it was controlled by Gaither and/or KY Titans Corporation.

The Ballards are seeking to turn their counterclaims into a class action lawsuit on behalf of all parents who paid money to Gaither or the Venmo account "that were not utilized for the represented purpose."

They're also alleging that Gaither's defamation lawsuit itself was filed to harass and silence their family.

The other family involved

The other two defendants, Kelly and Michael Higdon, have not filed a separate counterclaim, but did deny the allegations in Gaither's lawsuit and asked that the claims against them be dismissed.

The radio personalities

Kelly, known on the radio as Kelly K, hosts the morning show on 99.7 DJX. Amy, known on the radio as Amy Nic, hosts the morning show on 102.3 The Rose.