Legendary Dallas basketball coach J.D. Mayo was known for his strict rules at Skyline High School. But a DISD investigative report, completed after Mayo was dumped from his coaching position, raises questions about whether he followed the rules.
Mayo, one of the longest-tenured high school coaches in the state, calls the district's investigation a "ruse."
"Some of those folks have personal agendas," Mayo said last week.
He said he suspects he lost his job because he was one of the Dallas Independent School District's last remaining white head basketball coaches. Mayo said the district retaliated with the investigation after he questioned "the powers that be" about losing his position. Mayo remained in his teaching position before quitting Aug. 17 and going to work for a small north-central Texas school district.
It appears DISD investigators were looking at Mayo by Feb. 20 – more than a month before he was removed as coach – after a parent complained to Skyline's principal, according to the report.
The report was completed Sept. 9 and did not include comments from Mayo. The report said he was unavailable, but he said his attorney did not hear back from the district about rescheduling a meeting.
J.D. Mayo does not deny that his son made money training students. But he said the camps at Skyline ended several years ago, when he discovered that the gym must be leased. He said other people have similar programs. A 2005 brochure included in the investigative report advertised J.D. Mayo's Raider Basketball Camp, directed by Jason Mayo, who was listed as "League Coach/Skyline High School."
J.D. Mayo said his son has a business that entails giving basketball lessons to students. He provides lessons at his father's new workplace in the Nocona school district.
"He's a genius; he's outstanding at what he does. He's given so much to ... [Skyline] and the program," J.D. Mayo said.
Mayo said not all the Dallas athletes paid for his son's services. "There are probably more kids that didn't pay than did pay," he said, adding that he received none of the money.
Kemar Burrowes, who received free training from Jason Mayo, played for J.D. Mayo in the late 1990s.
"A lot of us wouldn't be in school and college if it wasn't for Coach Mayo," said Burrowes, 28. "It's asinine to believe that a man like that would do the things that they're accusing him of."
Other concerns mentioned in the report focused on J.D. Mayo's leadership style, such as not letting kids with tattoos, braids or gold teeth be on the team.
