Union County Superintendent of Schools Mike Ripplinger said a Newberry High School football coach created “a volatile situation that was about to explode at any moment” during a football game on Oct. 29, 2021.
On Sept. 7, a six-member jury convicted Geronnie Rollins of trespassing, resisting an officer and interfering with a school function for his actions during the game.
During a one-day trial in Lake Butler, a prosecutor told jurors that after Rollins was ejected from the game, he refused to leave. Union deputies detained Rollins on the sideline, escorted him off the field and released him to Alachua County law enforcement.
In a letter to County Judge Mitchell D. Bishop, entered into evidence at the sentencing of Rollins on Sept. 13, Ripplinger wrote that he was at the game and could not believe what he was witnessing after two Union deputies took the coach to the ground on the Newberry sideline.
“I heard and watched the reaction of the people in the stands,” he wrote. “At that moment I knew that things could easily and quickly get out of hand.”
The superintendent added that he made his way onto the field to help with crowd control and noticed Newberry fans emptying the stands and coming onto the field.
“I felt a volatile situation was about to explode at any moment,” Ripplinger wrote. “Newberry fans were very vocal and some appeared to become more and more combative as we tried to usher them through a side gate on the visiting side and prevent Newberry and Union County fans from mingling amidst the tension that was already quite thick.”
The superintendent added that he felt his safety and the safety of his administrators and deputies were in danger.
“I was surrounded by very agitated people whose fuse was ignited by the actions taken in response to the behavior of Mr. Rollins,” he wrote.
In the letter, the superintendent did not ask Bishop to impose any type of sentence. However, he did blame Rollins for creating a dangerous and potentially disastrous scenario.
“When we hold school functions and athletic events, Ripplinger wrote, “we should all feel safe as we cheer for our team and should not have to worry about events unfolding as they did in this case.”
Bishop sentenced Rollins to a 30-day suspended jail term and six months’ probation. If Rollins completes probation and serves 50 hours of community service, he will not do jail time.
The judge also received two letters supporting the defendant. One was from parent Tiffany Phillips who testified for the defense during the coach’s trial.
She told Bishop that Rollins served as an unpaid coach for Newberry and has positively impacted the lives of many young men that were headed in the wrong direction.
“We need more (people like), Coach Rollins in the community to tackle the issues we are having for troubled youth,” she wrote.
David A. Rodgers also asked Bishop to exercise leniency in the sentence. Rodgers wrote that he worked with Rollins for five years at FedEx in Gainesville.
“Mr. Rollins was not only a great co-worker, but he loves his family; he always puts family first along with God,” Rodgers wrote. “He loves the youth and enjoys helping mentor young men and women in all activities to include encouraging them that school is first and then sports and other things in life.”
