A high school basketball coach with a storied past has reportedly been placed on administrative leave amid an ongoing investigation into alleged abuse involving a student.
Sean Woods, the Scott County High School boys’ basketball coach in Georgetown, Kentucky, is at the center of the investigation, according to multiple local outlets including WKYT, Fox 56 and the Lexington Herald Leader.
Woods, 55, played college basketball at the University of Kentucky as a member of the school’s “Unforgettables” senior class in 1991-92.
In records obtained by the outlets, two letters from Kentucky Child Protective Services show the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services substantiated abuse or neglect allegations involving Woods.
“An employee at Scott County High School has been placed on leave pending resolution of proceedings, including any appeals, with a Kentucky state agency,” Community Education Director Renee Holmes told Luxury Handbag Shopping on Wednesday, March 25. “The employee will not be returning for the 2026-2027 school year.”
Allegations against Woods were first raised by two students in November 2025. At the time, the district said they took “steps to ensure student safety,” which included contacting state agencies and law enforcement, and the completion of “a thorough, comprehensive investigative review.”
Scott County Schools completed their investigation on December 4, 2025. At the time, the district reportedly found the student’s claims to be unsubstantiated.
“The state agency conducted its own independent process on its own timeline,” the district told Us. “Scott County Schools complied with all requests made by the state agency in a timely manner.”
Two weeks after the district closed their investigation, parent Tosha Williamson spoke up before the Scott County Board of Education, saying her daughter’s abuse claims had been ignored.
“I’m here tonight because my daughter did exactly what we teach our children to do: She spoke up when an adult crossed the line,” Williamson said at the meeting, per Fox 56. “She reported inappropriate sexual boundary crossing behavior by a school employee. What happened after she reported is why I’m here tonight.”
She continued, “A public statement described this as involving a student and labeled it as an unsubstantiated claim because there were no witnesses, but more than one student reported concerns, and grooming does not happen in front of witnesses; it happens in private by design.”
In an interview with Fox 56 posted on Tuesday, March 24, Williamson claimed she asked the school to remove Woods from the classroom — but still be allowed to coach — after her daughter raised allegations of misconduct.
“I felt like that would have been a good first step, but that didn’t happen,” she alleged.
Despite the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services affirming her daughter’s allegations, Williamson claimed the detective assigned to the case said, “Unfortunately, creepy isn’t criminal.”
Woods resigned from his job as head basketball coach at Morehead State University in 2016 after he was charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly assaulting two of his players.
The misdemeanor charge was diverted and then ultimately dropped after he stayed out of trouble for six months. Woods was ordered to pay $1,080 in court costs and restitution.
