Pressure mounts on school board member to resign over false claim coach called son racial slur

A Fresno school board member who accused a high school football coach of calling her son a racial slur is answering to increased pressure to resign after admitting the accusation was a lie.

Fresno Unified Board Trustee Keshia Thomas said on a podcast in 2022 that Bullard High School Football Coach Don Arax called her son a racial slur in 2013 — but later admitted it wasn’t true.

Arax filed a defamation lawsuit against Thomas the same year of the allegation.

“That public trust is gone, and she should resign and do the responsible thing,” Fresno Teacher Association President Manuel Bonilla said.

Thomas’ son also signed a sworn statement in July saying the coach never called him the slur, and he never told anyone that he did. However, he reversed his position a few weeks later — saying he did tell his mom the coach called him a racial slur and he lied in his sworn statement.

The district said it is reconsidering whether it will continue to cover Thomas’ legal fees in the defamation lawsuit filed by Arax, which have amounted to more than $350,000.

“FUSD agreed to help cover trustee Thomas’ legal fees at a time when we had no reason to question her account,” the district said in a statement. “Since then, new information has come to light. In her deposition, Thomas acknowledged that some of her earlier statements were not accurate, and her son made a similar acknowledgment in his own declaration.

Thomas has issued a statement apologizing to Arax and his family.

“At the time, I believed my son. As a mother, when my child told me something had occurred involving race, I took him seriously. As a school board member, I also believed I had a responsibility to take seriously anything that could affect whether students felt safe, respected and comfortable in their school environment. My concern was not only for my son, but for every child entrusted to our schools,” she said.

“I acted on what I believed to be true and from what I believed was an honorable responsibility to stand up for children and against injustice. I have now learned that the information I relied upon concerning Mr. Arax was not accurate,” she added.

But she also believes the FTA’s attempts to push her into resigning are “irresponsible.”

“FTA’s attempt to turn an act of accountability into a political demand for my resignation is irresponsible and distracting. It is also troubling coming from a labor organization whose movement is built on due process, fair representation and the right to be heard,” she wrote.

“I was elected by the people of my community, and attempts to circumvent their voice through political pressure are fundamentally undemocratic. I will not resign for acknowledging the truth and doing what I believe is right.”

The case could be settled in mediation, or could head to trial in December. Arax claimed more than $10,000 in damages when he originally filed the case.

Fresno Unified is the third-largest school district in California.

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