The apparent suicide of a high school cross country coach who worked in the government-run school system in Greenville county, South Carolina has sparked a flood of speculation – especially as it relates to this news outlet’s ongoing coverage of the Thornblade saga, a series of scandals emanating from a nearby country club.
According to our sources, however, there is “no connection” between the death of Riverside high school cross country coach Eric Cummings and any of the Thornblade-related scandals we have been covering for the past few months.
However, Cummings was the focus of an ongoing investigation by the Greenville county school district and the Greer, S.C. police department, according to our sources. The decorated coach had been placed on administrative leave by the district pending the outcome of that inquiry.
According to our sources, Cummings took his own life on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at his home in Lyman, S.C. – three weeks after he was placed on leave by the school district.
School officials were reportedly informed by local law enforcement that the cause of death was “suicide by hanging.”
What were police and school officials investigating?
It is not immediately clear …
“No reason was given for the leave,” reporters Daniel Gross and Geoff Preston of The Greenville News noted in their coverage.
Reporter Cody Alcorn of Fox Carolina tweeted that the investigation into Cummings involved “allegations made by woman (former student) who ran track under Cummings.”
“She reached out to me,” Alcorn tweeted.
Sources familiar with the investigation told us at least two former students at the school had accused Cummings of soliciting nude pictures from them.
Cummings had coached the girls and boys track and cross country teams at Riverside since 2006 – winning multiple state championships and national coach of the year honors in 2017. He previously coached at Byrnes high school in Duncan, S.C.
As is our custom in reporting on suicides, if anyone reading this post is dealing with issues that have them questioning whether to take their own life (or attempt harming themselves), please – call a friend.
You can also reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK.
You are not alone, in other words.
Developing …
-FITSNews
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