Hoover High from MTV's 2-a-days

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Alabama football power Hoover being investigated
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From wire reports
Hoover (Ala.), which began 2006 as the No. 1 football team in USA TODAY's Super 25 rankings and was featured on MTV's Two-A-Days, is facing a rush of negative publicity.
After several Hoover teachers claimed in June that grades were changed for two senior athletes by employees who were not teachers, the school board launched an investigation.

Since then, the probe has widened, according to The Birmingham News, to include problems in the "management and control of the Hoover football program." Last week, the management of the school took a turn. The board voted not to renew the contract of principal Richard Bishop.

That dismissal set off the new round of fireworks. The Birmingham News reported that Bishop's lawyers said in a letter to school officials that Bishop was directed "to turn a blind eye" to reports of alleged indiscretions by the football coach Rush Propst that could be damaging to the coach and the football program.

The lawyers state in the letter that school superintendent Andy Craig told Bishop to ignore allegations that Propst had a "secret family and a completely separate life." The letter also claims that Bishop received reports contending that Propst had had affairs with two school employees.

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Propst has referred questions to his attorney, who called the allegations concerning his life hearsay. "It's unfortunate that someone would inject such personal accusations into a public forum based on nothing more than rumors," Propst's attorney, Russ Campbell, told The Birmingham News.

The newspaper also reported that the letter says that the former high school principal, Sandra Spivey, had warned Bishop that Propst "was untouchable" and that Spivey had knowledge of emails documenting an affair Propst had with a school official.

Propst started holding practices for the season last week. He became head coach in 1999. The 2004 season was the first 15-0 season for the Bucs.

Hoover, which has won five of the last seven 6A state championships, has been a tremendous source of community pride up to this point. According to The Birmingham News, there's a groundswell in the community that wants to see the investigation finished before the season starts. Fundraising is a challenge this year for boosters.

"Hoover is becoming a laughingstock," Hoover parent Bob Plummer told the newspaper.

Sam C. Pointer, a former federal judge heading up the Hoover investigation, expects the probe to continue into the school year. He outlined the areas of the investigation to newspaper on July 20.

•Grade changes by employees who are not teachers.

•Possible pressure on teachers to influence or change grades.

•Possible inappropriate preferential treatment of athletes.

•Possible problem areas in management and control of the Hoover football program.

Pointer also said in the July 20 report that the lawyers working on the case have conducted 20 interviews, but had not interviewed Propst. Bill Veitch, a school board member, told the newspaper he thinks the investigation will clear the school.

"I don't think anybody has done anything wrong," Veitch said.