Yahoo Finance Georgia HS coach Rush Probst put on leave after recording of pay-for-play allegations becomes public
Valdosta High School football coach Rush Probst is currently on administrative leave.
The move to put Probst on leave comes after a recording of a conversation including Probst was made public earlier in the week. In that conversation with a member of the school's touchdown club, Probst talks about vague college football pay-for-play allegations at both Georgia and Alabama and financial arrangements for players to play for Probst.
An investigation into Probst's high school-related allegations has begun in Georgia.
"I am aware of the questions surrounding the VHS football coach," Valdosta City School superintendent Dr. William Cason said in a statement to ESPN. "This is a personnel matter that is currently under investigation; therefore I am not at liberty to discuss details about the topic."
Probst is one of the most well-known and infamous high school football coaches in the country. He’s been a head coach in Alabama and Georgia since 1989 and was the coach at Hoover High School when the MTV Show “Two-a-Days” aired in 2006 and 2007.
Probst resigned from Hoover in 2007 after numerous allegations against him emerged. Those allegations included grade-changing for players and that he had a secret family in another Alabama city.
Probst was also disciplined in Georgia in 2016 while at Colquitt County High School. After headbutting a player — and causing himself to bleed — in a 2015 playoff game, Probst was initially suspended for the entirety of the 2016 season. He successfully appealed that decision and received a reprimand.
He was fired from Colquitt County in March of 2019 after ethics violations that included owing nearly $500,000 in back taxes and giving pills to players on multiple occasions.
How serious are pay-for-play allegations?
On the tape, Probst discussed allegations that Georgia and Alabama have systems set up to pay their players under the table. He also said that current Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb was paid three $60,000 installments to return for his senior season.
Chubb said earlier in the week that the allegations were unfounded.
If i needed money i would have went pro #fakenews
— Nick Chubb (@NickChubb21) March 8, 2021
As Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel noted on the "Yahoo Sports College Podcast" with Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde earlier this week, the college allegations that Probst made in the recording don't have enough detail to be taken too seriously. Vague pay-for-play allegations in college sports are nothing new; and they are hard to verify without names and explicit details.
And besides, Probst is now reportedly saying what he said on the tape was a lie anyway. According to ESPN, Probst has signed an affidavit stating that he has no knowledge of recruiting violations at either school.
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