Roosevelt Football: Scandal Substantiated by Fact-finder Report
J425 was first to report (in October) on the concerning allegations of transfer wrongdoing at Roosevelt. Eight months later, we check whether our claims fared well in the investigatory report.
SEATTLE — Roosevelt’s football coach and principal are out… and both the Roosevelt athletic director AND the district athletic director for Seattle Public Schools are facing multi-year probations after an investigation into improper football recruiting – launched in part after J425 was first to report on the spate of Ford Sports Performance-linked players suddenly transferring to Roosevelt last year – resulted in findings of wrongdoing that will force Roosevelt to tear its football program down to the studs and rebuild.
Today, J425 obtained the 48-page investigatory report filed by the WIAA-appointed fact-finder, a Vancouver-area attorney who looked into allegations of wrongdoing at Roosevelt.
Accordingly, we thought it’d be a good time to share that report with J425 readers – and to take a look back at whether the major claims made in J425 reporting were substantiated in the fact finder report — a copy of which is attached to the end of this post in full.
WIAA Smacks Down Sam Adams, Roosevelt with Series of Fines and Suspensions
Last week, the WIAA announced a series of severe sanctions and athletic suspensions after an independent fact finder’s report largely substantiated allegations of improper recruitment at Roosevelt High School’s football program.
The multi-month investigation (that J425 was first to report on in October of 2024) found that leaders at Roosevelt and the Seattle School District repeatedly violated WIAA regulations in order to improperly recruit players.
The following sanctions were announced last week:
Three Roosevelt coaches were fined $2,500 apiece, and two of them - head coach Sam Adams, the former Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman, and assistant coach Saul Patu, were suspended from all WIAA activities for one year. Dom Skene, who ran cover for Adams and Ford through social media, was also fined $2,500 by the WIAA.
Roosevelt’s top administrators were hit hard as well, after the investigation showed they repeatedly deceived staff, students and the public in attempts to cover up wrongdoing.
Principal Tamara "Tami" Brewer and athletic director Danny Thompson were fined $2,500 apiece.
Thompson was placed on probation for three years and stripped of an upcoming role as the District 2 representative for girls flag football.
Pat McCarthy, the Seattle Public Schools executive director of athletics was fined $2,500 and put on three years of probation.
Roosevelt forfeits all games played in the last two seasons (2023, 2024). The Roughriders won eight games before losing to Bellevue in the quarterfinals last fall.
Roosevelt football was also hit with a one year post-season ban; and WIAA handed out one year athletic suspensions for any Roosevelt football players who knowingly provided falsified information as part of the transfer process.
The penalties handed out last week were just the beginning. But the fissures were enough to make Seattle Public Schools doubt the foundation of Roosevelt’s in house administration. Two days after the WIAA sanctions were announced, Seattle Puiblic Schools pulled the Roosevelt Principal. Tami Brewer was placed on leave, with a district spokesperson issuing a statement:
“Principal Tami Brewer will be on leave from her position at Roosevelt High School,” SPS wrote. “This will provide Seattle Public Schools an opportunity to review a set of findings related to Roosevelt that were recently released by the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association to determine next steps.”
Fact-finder Follows Up on J425’s Published Allegations of Serious Wrongdoing
As J425 was first to report last October, the WIAA decided to approve a factfinder investigation after two initial Roosevelt and/or Seattle Public Schools-led investigations failed to address key issues – while quickly clearing Roosevelt. These whitewashes err findings rankled the state coaching community. It seemed clear that someone or something was behind the phenomenon that led to18 of state’s top players (most of whom train at Ford Sports Performance) deciding en masse to leave their current schools in order to all simultaneously descend upon a middling 3A football school with a lengthy playoff drought
The WIAA ruled that a fact finder should be deployed in the Roosevelt matter in September. But due to delays and the resignation of the initial facfinder for health reasons, the person who ultimately became the factfinder (Marilee Scarborough of the greater Vancouver, WA area) wasn’t tabbed until January, at which point the WIAA contracted with her to conduct a thorough investigation regarding athletic transfers at Roosevelt High School.
So the end-product was clear (an investigatory report) and the factfinder was appointed. But what scope would the investigation be given?
J425’s initial reporting showed that the vast majority of transfer athletes were affiliated with Ford Sports Performance (FSP) or its owner, Tracy Ford. We also revealed that athletes were provided with an on-campus “club” where they could hang out without concern about being hassled about grades or attendance. Finally, J425 laid out how – and why – Roosevelt was leveraging McKinney Vento homeless school children designations to circumvent transfer and eligibility concerns.
Interestingly, it turns out that the fact-finder’s scope aligned almost exactly to the aforementioned areas: she’d look into “The Kennel”...she’d check for FSP links…and she’d look into whether McKinney Vento was being used correctly inside Roosevelt.
With the full release of the factfinder report today, we feel it’s a good time to check J425’s reporting against the findings of the report. How did we match up?
Roosevelt Football: A Scandal Substantiated
The concerns surfaced in The Journal 425’s reporting were comprehensively reflected in the Fact-Finding Report, which investigated and largely substantiated many of the initial allegations and subsequent claims. Here's how the concerns from the articles were addressed in the report (footnotes refer to the report itself, provided at the bottom of the post).
Allegations of Recruiting Violations and Numerous Transfers:
J425 Reporting: The initial article stated the Roosevelt football program was under investigation for "possible recruiting violations" after "at least a dozen highly-recruited student athletes transferred into the football program" [1].
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report explicitly states it was launched in response to "complaints filed with WIAA alleging illegal recruitment of football players" [2]. It confirms Roosevelt reported that "eighteen (18) students transferred into their football program for the 2024 season" [3]. The report concludes, based on a preponderance of evidence, that "recruiting of football players to Roosevelt High School occurred in violation of WIAA eligibility rules" [4].
Ties to a Common Athletic Training Facility (Ford Sports Performance - FSP):
J425 Reporting: The reporting noted "heavily-recruited players with ties to a common athletic training facility transferred to Roosevelt" [5], and an "FSP-linked recruit detailing efforts aimed at enticing the player to leave his current high school and transfer to Roosevelt" [6].
Keep Reading Past the Jump for the Full 48-page report.
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report dedicated a section to "Ford Sports Performance (FSP) Connections" as part of its scope [3, 7]. It found that "of the eighteen new transfer athletes on the 2024-2025 football team, ten have verified FSP connections" [8]. The report also highlighted that Sam Adams, a Roosevelt coach, was an FSP coach and observed athletes there, using this access to initiate conversations about transferring to Roosevelt [9-13]. It concluded that while FSP as an entity may not have directly induced transfers, Mr. Ford (of FSP) was "aware of the recruiting activity of Mr. Adams" and "ignored activities known to be violations of WIAA rules" [10, 11].
Influence of Private Trainers:
J425 Reporting: An anonymous coach raised concerns that "private trainers are becoming too influential" [5].
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report identified Saul Patu, an assistant football coach at Roosevelt, as the owner and operator of the "Kennel Sports Group," which acts as "agents and managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, and other public figures" [14, 15]. It also noted that coaches like Sam Adams, with a long history in youth programs, used their connections to entice students [16, 17]. An issue outside the scope but noted was a perception that "sports trainers are attempting to create super teams" [18].
Independent Fact-Finder Appointment and Process:
J425 Reporting: It was reported that the WIAA approved an independent fact-finder to investigate, following probes by the Metro League and District 2 [1, 5, 19].
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report confirmed its appointment on September 30, 2024, by the WIAA to investigate alleged recruiting violations [20]. It detailed its investigative process, which involved reviewing prior inquiries, conducting over thirty interviews with various individuals (students, parents, coaches, administrators), and reviewing over a thousand pages of documents obtained through public records requests [21, 22].
Potential Penalties:
J425 Reporting: It was noted that Roosevelt could be forced to "forfeit games" and "ineligible players could be barred from competing for a full year" [23].
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report included a section on "Recommendations/Potential Penalties" [4]. It stated that "Forfeiture of games, as well as benching players for a year is a common remedy for recruiting violations" [24], and listed other WIAA penalties such as "Letter of Remedy," "Probation," "Restriction," "Suspension," and even "Expulsion" for member schools [25-27].
Circumvention of Transfer and Eligibility Rules, including Homeless Student Designations (McKinney-Vento Abuse):
J425 Reporting: The second article highlighted "an administrative onboarding enrollment process purpose-built to falsely enroll transfer athletes as homeless students in order to circumvent transfer and eligibility rules" [6]. It also mentioned concerns about transfers not being subject to "typical athletic eligibility standards, including attendance and minimum GPA checks" [6].
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: This was a significant focus. The report extensively detailed the "Use of McKinney Vento" [13(e)]. It found that "football players used false addresses or other false information regarding their living situations" [28] and "made false claims to establish residency in the Roosevelt attendance area for the purpose of participating in football" [29]. It presented evidence that multiple football players used the same or fabricated addresses [30-33] and that the responses in their New Student Packets (e.g., repeated "McKinney-Vento" or "couch surfing") suggested they were "coached on how to register as McKinney Vento students" [34]. The district's McKinney Vento liaison confirmed that nearly all of the football players claiming McKinney Vento status were later found ineligible upon verification [35, 36]. The report also noted instances of poor attendance and academic performance among transfer players, supporting claims that they weren't subjected to typical eligibility checks [37-41].
"Poisonous Internal Culture" and the "Kennel Club":
J425 Reporting: Staff described a "poisonous internal culture" and the booster-funded "Kennel Club" as a "private club where football transfers can privately retreat en masse" [42].
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report investigated the "Academic Intervention Program (the 'Kennel')" [43, 44]. It found that the "Kennel" program, operated by Coach Saul Patu's "Kennel Sports Group," was initially designed "exclusively for student football players" during the 2023-2024 school year to help them obtain "athletic scholarships" [45, 46]. Staff members interviewed described it as a "hangout" for only football players, a "private dining room," and questioned its academic integrity, confirming the perception of it as a special privilege for athletes [47]. The report explicitly stated the "Kennel" was "a privilege not offered to other students during the 2023-2024 school year" and was "offered...as an incentive" for attendance [48].
Lack of Cooperation from Roosevelt Staff:
J425 Reporting: While not explicitly stated as a concern in the initial article, the second article mentions the fact-finder "setting up interviews," implying a process that relies on cooperation.
Fact-Finding Report Reflection: The report heavily criticized Roosevelt's lack of cooperation, stating that Principal Brewer "declined" initial interview requests, legal counsel "continued to avoid scheduling definitive interview dates," and Athletic Director Danny Thompson "initially refused to participate" [49, 50]. It noted that Roosevelt's "continual delays and refusals violate WIAA rules" and that individuals treated the fact-finding as an "adversarial process, rather than one in which they had an obligation to provide documentation and to respond truthfully" [50]. It also cited Seattle Public Schools' failure to provide all requested documents [22].
In essence, the Fact-Finding Report provided detailed evidence and conclusions that largely validated the investigative reporting by J425, transforming initial allegations and anecdotal reports into substantiated findings of WIAA rule violations and systemic failures at Roosevelt High School.
Full WIAA Fact-finder Report Attached Below
Next: J425 Deep Dive on Ford Sports Perfomance’s Role in Both of the Major Recruiting Scandals that Rocked WA Football Since the Turn of the Millenia