Chad Brooks, who used to work at West High School as a teacher and assistant football coach, is now facing a new criminal charge.
According to the new charge, the assistant football coach had an inappropriate relationship with a second minor.
On September 24, 2025, a Knox County grand jury formally accused the former teacher of s–ual battery by an authority figure and assault.
Police found a new victim, which led to these charges. Earlier, in May 2025, he was already charged with aggravated statutory r-pe and statutory r-pe by an authority figure.
Brooks was arrested on September 26, 2025. The former football coach is being held in jail with a $75,000 bond.
Since he was charged earlier this year, Brooks was put on administrative leave without pay. The investigation into Brooks is not connected to any other cases, according to police.
In an interview with WVLT, the school said that Chad was told that his contract would not be renewed for the next school year (2025-26).
Furthermore, the Knox County Schools Superintendent, Jon Rysewyk, said a human resources team investigated West High School this summer.
The investigation looked beyond football and included the athletics director and teaching assistants. The report found that the West High football program was not properly supervised.
To fix this, West High said that its staff will have extra training for two years. Administrators will watch coaching candidates more carefully and increase oversight of staff.
They also reviewed the athletics handbook to find ways to improve.
Parents Are Concerned About Their Children’s Safety After Chad Brooks’ Charges
Following the sexual abuse charges against former West High School football coach and teacher Chad Brooks, parents and residents of the Knoxville community have spoken up to express their concerns about their children’s safety.
Many are sharing their thoughts and fears on social media and showing how deeply this case has affected the community.
A Facebook user, Tiffany Byrd, wrote about the case and pointed out that Brooks had multiple victims over several years. She asked, “But no one knew?”
Tiffany’s words clearly express the shock and confusion that many might have felt in the Knoxville community.
Another FB user, Tabitha Stewart, replied to Tiffany, saying, “All the students knew, tells me adults had to at minimum have heard the rumors and just ignored them or covered them up.”
It is clear how frustrated people are with adults who were supposed to protect children. Joy Goins also shared her feelings, writing,
“Jesusssssss… I’m so scared for our youth with nasty adults smiling in your face and having you put trust in their word, just for them to turn around and make your child a victim.”
Joy Goins worte on Facebook
Joy explained that adults, whether family members, friends, teachers, or coaches, are supposed to be trusted, but situations like this make it hard to feel safe.
Joy added that while she may have lost trust in many adults, she will always protect her own children, saying that anyone who harms her kids becomes the “Opp” and will face consequences.
The mother even included hashtags like #mommindset and #treadifyouwantto to show her protective mindset.
Andy Haney also commented and questioned how many of Brooks’ friends knew about his actions.
He pointed out that many people enjoy gossiping or posting mugshots online, yet no one seemed willing to call out Brooks for being a pedophile.
Andy suggested that others who may have enabled or ignored his behavior should also be looked at.
This kind of news, where a teacher or coach – someone meant to guide and educate children – acts immorally, is always heartbreaking.
Even if cases like this happen more often than we hear about, each story is a reminder of how vulnerable children can be and how important adult accountability is.
In Case You Don’t Know
- Chad Brooks is 33-year-old.
- A second West High School assistant football coach, Richard Scott Shaver, 57, who was not a teacher, was arrested on May 23 and charged with sexual battery by an authority figure.
- Officials said Shaver’s case has no connection in any way to the Chad Brooks investigation.
