Staff Reports

UPDATE at 11:50 a.m.: District Attorney Greg Newman has announced that he has dismissed the simple assault charge filed against West Henderson High men’s basketball coach Joey Bryson.

The charge was initiated by a student who plays basketball at North Henderson following the high school basketball game at West Henderson on Dec. 15.

West Henderson won the game against North in overtime. Following the game, the North student and his mother went to the magistrate’s office and the criminal charge was issued against Bryson. A court date of Jan. 26 was scheduled.

“I will not prosecute cases against teachers that have not been properly and thoroughly vetted by law enforcement,” Newman said in a news release. “I reviewed video footage of the reported incident and I saw no evidence of any crime being committed by Coach Bryson. What I saw was that Coach Bryson was conferring with one of his players while a foul shot was taking place. The North Henderson player encroached upon their space and the coach flung the hand of the North player away.

“The charging document issued by the magistrate accused the coach of ‘pushing’ the player. I did not see any evidence of pushing. Contact was definitely made by the coach, but it does not rise to any type of criminal action,” said Newman.

The District Attorney went on to say that “there were at least two sheriff’s deputies at the game who did not believe that any crime had occurred. They were engaged with removing an irate fan from the center of the basketball court. Also, I find it significant that the referees did not call a technical foul on the West Henderson coach or bench.”

The DA added that he has explained his decision to the complainant’s mother and that the matter is under review by the school superintendent.

Associate Superintendent for Administrative Services John Bryant said today the school system has completed its investigation into the matter and the issues presented have been addressed. Bryant said Bryson will continue to be the West Henderson’s coach. 

Charges dropped against West coach Joey Bryson

Charges have been dropped against West Henderson High varsity boys basketball coach Joey Bryson.

Last month, Bryson was charged with misdemeanor simple assault by a parent of a North Henderson High boys’ basketball player.

“It is my understanding that the DA’s office did dismiss the charges against Mr. Bryson during the first week of January,” Henderson County Public Schools Associate Superintendent for Administrative Services John Bryant said.

The Times-News will update this story as more information comes in.