Ousted Kearney High girls basketball coach files six-count defamation lawsuit

KEARNEY, Neb. — It is now official: the former Kearney High girls basketball coach is taking the parent of a player — and possibly more defendants — to court.

J.D. Carson filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Amber Garner of Kearney and an unnamed defendant or defendants in Buffalo County District Court on Thursday. The suit alleges slander and invasion of privacy against Garner. It alleges slander, slander with actual malice, slander per se and invasion of privacy against the unnamed defendant or defendants. The lawsuit says Carson doesn’t know who the alleged defendants will be. It’s likely that he plans to learn his or her identity or identities through pretrial discovery, but his attorney, Nathan Bruner, did not immediately respond to a request to clarify.

Carson is seeking special damages of $172,920, consisting of his potential coaching salary for the next 20 years. He is also seeking general damages in an unspecified amount and $1,000,000 in punitive damages to be awarded to the school districts of Buffalo County.

The lawsuit comes after Carson resigned from his post as girls basketball coach on Nov. 13, which was the first day of practice. After Carson criticized the district’s investigation at a school board meeting, the district superintendent issued a statement saying Carson was accused of having a flirtatious relationship with a player and giving that player preferential treatment, among other alleged issues.

Carson filed a Petition for Depositions Before Action in an attempt to ask school officials who brought the allegations forward. A judge dismissed the request on Monday.

The lawsuit accuses Garner of telling someone in March 2021, when Carson was just an assistant coach, that he had an inappropriate relationship with a player and that he played that player more because of the relationship. That allegation is the basis for the slander and invasion of privacy counts against Garner. Carson denies the accusations and says he learned of Garner’s comments after he resigned in November.

Carson argues the unnamed defendant or defendants made allegations to school officials that were false. He argues the allegations were intended to describe a sexual relationship between Carson and the minor student and describe a grooming relationship between Carson and the student.

In the lawsuit, Carson’s attorneys detailed his account of events leading to his resignation. He says he was called to principal Jeff Ganz’s office on Nov. 10 and was told of “many” allegations, but not given details. He says he was called to Ganz’s office a second time and informed of the allegations. Ganz gave him a choice to resign within two hours or to be fired.

The school district is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but Carson’s attorneys detailed what they believe are several violations of school policy. They argue that administrators didn’t file necessary complaint forms, didn’t allow Carson a chance to rebut the accusations and didn’t allow him a chance to respond in writing to termination documentation.

In the lawsuit, Carson denied having a flirtatious relationship with a player and denied giving a player preferential treatment. He also addressed less significant complaints brought up in the superintendent’s public statement. He says he didn’t “fish” for compliments, that he told a player to stop playing inappropriate music on a summer trip and shared the photo he says was questioned by administrators. It shows him sitting well behind players who were taking a photo while wearing swimsuits.

According to the lawsuit, Kearney Public Schools filed a complaint to the Nebraska Commissioner of Education Professional Practices Commission alleging that Carson committed a grooming violation. The district filed the complaint on Dec. 20, which was at least 37 days after administrators learned of the allegations against him.

A judge has not yet set any hearings for the case.