In Tacoma, Washington, a heated controversy has erupted at Dolores Silas High School after senior Hezekiah Wyatt, a three-year varsity basketball player, became the only athlete cut from this year’s team.
Hezekiah Wyatt had been a Ram since the day he stepped on campus as a freshman.
He earned a varsity spot that very first year, started as a sophomore and junior, and helped the team reach state regionals last season.
This fall, he played well in the league games until a hand injury slowed him down, and everyone assumed his senior year would be the big finish with his teammates.
Then, out of nowhere, he became the only player cut from the Silas High School boys basketball team.
That’s the part that still doesn’t sit right with his family. After three full years of varsity basketball, Hezekiah was the only one told there was no room for him.
Coach John Barbee sent an email that many people have now seen. In it, he thanked Hezekiah for his commitment, effort, leadership, and maturity.
He wrote that the decision “came down to roster needs rather than anything you lacked” and said the choice was incredibly difficult.
The note was polite, even kind. But for a kid who had started the last two seasons, “roster needs” felt like a thin explanation.
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Hezekiah’s grandfather, Gary Wyatt, went public on Facebook with a long, emotional post.
He believes the cut had nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with something that happened last school year.
Hezekiah’s dad, Solomon Wyatt, had sent an email to Principal Bernadette Ray.
Solomon is a former two-time All-State player, a 2000 state champion at Foss High School, a Division I starter at Boise State, and he still holds the respect of a lot of people in Tacoma basketball circles.
In that email, he laid out concerns about the program’s culture, how it wasn’t developing players, how good kids were falling through the cracks, and how the environment wasn’t helping anyone reach the next level.
Gary says the administration didn’t like being called out. Instead of fixing the problems, he believes they waited for tryouts this year and used the new coach to send a message: cut Solomon’s son.
Gary wrote,
“They thought if they got rid of the father who is holding them accountable and his son who was on the team for three years, the problem would go away.”
Via Facebook
He pointed out that Hezekiah never complained. The young man kept a positive attitude, led by example, and never bad-mouthed anyone, even after the cut.
And the irony stings even more because everyone involved is Black.
Gary called it “Black-on-Black crime” in the community, disappointed that a Black coach and Black administrators would, in his eyes, hurt another Black family instead of protecting them.
He ended his post with a Bible verse from Galatians 6:7: “Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”
A day later, someone commented that Gary shouldn’t teach his grandson about racism and was only adding fuel to the fire.
Gary fired back, pointing out that he never mentioned race as the reason, only unfair retaliation, and said the real fire was the failing culture burning kids’ dreams at Silas.
Meanwhile, Hezekiah handled everything with a grace that has stunned a lot of people.
He posted his own message on Instagram along with a screenshot of Coach Barbee’s email.
He thanked the Rams for four years of memories, for bringing him up as a young sharpshooter, for the love he always felt.
He admitted he disagreed with the decision and felt some kind of way about how it was done, but he refused to throw anyone under the bus.
Instead, he wrote,
“This is another trial and tribulation that the Lord will allow me to get through… This is not a letdown, it’s a setup!”
Via Facebook
He quoted the verse about God preparing a table in the presence of enemies and signed off with his jersey number and blue hearts: “5out.”
Off the court, Hezekiah is already winning.
He’s taking classes at Tacoma Community College as a high school senior, carrying a 4.0 GPA, and has several academic scholarships waiting for him.
Basketball was never going to define him, but finishing his senior season with the teammates he grew up with clearly meant a lot.
The whole situation has left people talking in Tacoma. Some side with the family and say a three-year varsity player doesn’t get cut for “roster needs” unless something else is going on.
Others say coaches have to make hard calls every year, and families don’t always like them.
One thing everyone seems to agree on: Hezekiah Wyatt has shown more class in a tough moment than most adults ever do.
And whatever door closed at Silas High School, a lot of people believe a bigger one is about to open for him.
