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Former Trotwood-Madison assistant football coach Jeremy Beckham (right, talking to Rams quarterback Domonick Britt) said he never saw head coach Maurice Douglass do anything 'that I haven't seen any other coach on an other staff that I've ever been on do.' Beckham was dismissed for trying to recruit players, and Douglass was suspended three games. Staff file photoClick to enlarge

While the Trotwood-Madison High School football team faces two years' probation and head coach Maurice Douglass gets a three-week ban, the heaviest price was paid by Rams offensive coordinator Jeremy Beckham in connection with an Ohio High School Athletic Association investigation.

Beckham, who also has coached locally at Northmont and Springfield South, was told Monday that he was terminated from Trotwood's staff.

"The biggest thing (wrong) is the way they worded (the news release), which is totally false," Beckham said. "The fact is something had to be done on the staff and somebody had to go, and I guess I got the short straw."

Those sanctions, along with two seniors being declared ineligible this fall and 2008 graduate Michael Shaw unable to compete this past spring, grew out of a seven-month investigation by the OHSAA.

The news release said an assistant was dismissed for violating Bylaw 4-9-3, Recruiting, by contacting other high school student athletes for the purpose of influencing them to transfer to Trotwood-Madison — a charge Beckham denies.

"I think there probably could have been some involvement on both ends," OHSAA Commissioner Dan Ross said of recruitment claims against Douglass and Beckham. "There could have been more degree from one person than from the head coach. I think it was probably pro-rated accordingly."

Douglass and his coaching staff had been alleged to be recruiting students from other schools on numerous occasions. One instance came this spring during a track meet, which prompted one area athletic director to call Trotwood AD Jim Ladd about the incident, though both ADs said the situation had been resolved.

But the OHSAA deemed Douglass' role less than that of Beckham. "When I was with him, I never witnessed anything he did that I haven't seen any other coach on any other staff that I've ever been on do," Beckham said of Douglass.

Douglass will be suspended from coaching in practices and contests for Weeks 3-5 of the regular season, during which time he also will not be permitted to have any contact with members of the team.

The timing was to allow Douglass to continue preseason preparation and make the trip to Texas for a game in Week 2 in the Herbstreit Varsity Series.

The Rams recently approved the trip in which they will play Arlington Bowie at 9 p.m. Aug. 30 in Texas Stadium. The contract calls for a $30,000 appearance fee.

Trotwood principal Gerald Cox said Ladd likely will be in charge during Weeks 3-5 when the Rams play Lebanon, Wayne and Springfield.

Beckham contends Trotwood never gave him the chance to refute recruiting allegations, which he said he had been promised. "I wasn't involved in any of that, by recruiting any player. I was not involved in that at all," Beckham said. "That's why I wanted to challenge every allegation. I wasn't afforded the opportunity."

The ineligible students (Shaw included) were declared mostly as a result of falsifying residency claims. There will be no forfeitures of contests, in part because Ross said Trotwood was "not complicit" in residency wrongdoing.

"I know that they have a procedure that they're going to be using for checking addresses," Ross said of Trotwood. "If they're an athlete, they're going to be monitored very closely. It isn't just filling out a form and saying this is where we're living. Somebody is going to be checking to make sure that happens."

"The information that was shared with us indicates that there was a pattern of inappropriate action that occurred," T-M principal Gerald Cox said in the release. "So we believe the penalties that were agreed upon are appropriate."

Earlier this week, Cox said: "That was really the intent all along — to make sure we had whatever systems in place to make sure we were conducting a solid, reputable program."

While initial online reaction called the penalties a glorified slap on the wrist, Ross warned Trotwood that there is no margin for error. "If they have another issue in the football program, then you could have a sanction that is more severe and not probably could be, it would be," Ross said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.