BASEBALL

Reinstated Atlantic baseball coach Antwan Brown thankful for support

Chris Boyle
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Students and parents rallied in support of Atlantic baseball coach Antwan Brown, left, on Aug. 31. Volusia County Schools reinstated him as a substitute teacher, and the Sharks' coach, on Oct. 3. [News-Journal/David Tucker]

Back in late August, Antwan Brown suddenly found himself ousted from his job as a substitute teacher and the head baseball coach at Atlantic High School.

Brown says that he prepared himself for what he knew would be a test of patience, and of faith.

"People were asking me, 'How are you going to eat? How are you going to do this or that?' But I believed good things were going to happen to me," he recalled.

After public outcry from student-athletes and parents alike, which included a protest outside the school on Aug. 31 and a plea before the Volusia County School Board at the end of September, Brown was reinstated on Oct. 3.

His reinstatement came at the request of the Atlantic's principal, Stephen Hinson, according to Nancy Wait, the district's director of community services.

In a phone interview with The News-Journal, Brown called it a "relief" to be back to work and back on the diamond with his players.

"Nobody really wants to go through the type of situation I went through," Brown said. "If it wasn’t for the kids giving so much support, I don’t know where I would have been. I’m excited to be back for the kids to build a new atmosphere and a new image at Atlantic."

Volusia County Schools disqualified Brown as a substitute teacher following a professional standards investigation, alleging he failed to maintain honesty as a witness during a separate investigation of a teaching colleague at the school.

Hinson said he met with Superintendent James T. Russell on Sept. 28 about the prospect of reinstating Brown.

"Ultimately, after doing all the interviews and going through the whole process, I think it was a great (out)pouring of support from the parents and from the students," Hinson said. "He's been with the (baseball) guys for a very long time, so he's earned their respect. … (The parents) were very comfortable with him and felt good about the opportunity he was going to bring for their kids.

"I wouldn't say I was surprised; I would say I was enlightened about all the things he was doing, above and beyond being a coach."

Nearly two-dozen students and parents rallied on Brown's behalf in front of the school on Aug. 31. Nearly a month later, on Sept. 26, at least 10 people stood in front of the Volusia County School Board and delivered impassioned pleas for a man whom multiple students described as a personal mentor.

"I was a very proud Shark until I heard coach Brown was relieved of his duties," freshman pitcher Daniel O'Brien told the board. "It was a very sad day. I didn't know what to do.

"I admired him a lot. He taught me a lot, not just about baseball but how to be a better person in general, how to have a stronger mentality. Since he's been gone, it's been hard to think about what my high school years will be like and what my future will be like."

According to Wait, the school made the announcement of Brown's reinstatement in a separate meeting with parents.

Hired on Oct. 12, 2015, Brown said the Sharks finished 2-13 in 2016 and 3-12 in 2017. Prior to his arrival, he filled an interim coaching role at Father Lopez and led the Green Wave to a 17-15 finish in 2015.

A former pitcher at Embry-Riddle, the Starke native also serves as director of baseball for the Port Orange Baseball Club.

Mike Navarra, the club’s president, organized the initial rally in August. He has two sons — Michael, 17, and Matthew, 14 — who play baseball at Atlantic.

He attended the parents' meeting, in which Hinson told the gathered group he found a coach with skills at least equal to Brown. Shortly thereafter, Brown walked through the door.

"The whole room erupted into cheers," Navarra said. "It was kind of shocking. After all we’d gone through and not hearing anything, it was kind of shocking to see it all got put back together."

Staff writer Erica Breunlin contributed to this report.