photo by: YouTube screenshot

Haskell Indian Nations University cross country coach Clay Mayes addresses a bipartisan congressional panel Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

A collective of Haskell Indian Nations University students, alumni and former faculty are calling for the reinstatement of the recently fired cross country coach who has been at the center of investigations into the university.

The students want coach Clay Mayes, who was laid off Friday along with dozens of other Haskell employees, to be reinstated immediately. Mayes, as the Journal-World has reported, was fired once already and reinstated amid reports of dysfunction at Haskell that resulted in congressional hearings in July of last year.

“To date, BIE has now wrongfully breached Coach Clay Mayes’ contract, twice,” a letter to BIE Director Tony Dearman said. The group notes that the BIE’s own investigative report found that Mayes’ contract earlier had been breached “through retaliation, false reporting, and harassment.”

The students called Mayes’ firing on Friday a second breach of his contract and suggested it was retaliation for Mayes speaking at the bipartisan congressional hearing last summer, which concluded that conditions at the university were poor — “a toxic culture,” in the words of Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico.

“What has occurred over the last three years, what has been allowed, and what has unfolded is a disservice to our student body, athletic teams, faculty, alumni, and to the coaches and educators that have our best interest at heart,” the group’s message to Dearman said. “Coach Clay Mayes is one those that has invested in us, and it’s time we do the same for him, and to reinstate Coach Clay Mayes, effective immediately.”