David Markley has been reinstated as Southlake Carroll\u2019s head boys basketball coach he told The Dallas Morning News on Friday night.<\/p>\n
Markley was let go by Carroll ISD<\/a> earlier this month, and parents protested the decision.<\/p>\n Markley referred all other questions to Carroll ISD and executive director of athletics Riley Dodge. Dodge, also Southlake Carroll\u2019s football coach, confirmed in a text message that Markley is back as Carroll\u2019s coach but said he couldn\u2019t comment beyond that.<\/p>\n A Carroll ISD spokesperson previously told The News that Markley resigned, but the coach told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he was let go because of his \u201csideline demeanor and use of profanity.\u201d<\/p>\n High School Sports<\/p>\n Markley was named the District 4-6A coach of the year after leading Carroll to a 23-9 record this season. He has been Carroll\u2019s head coach since 2021.<\/p>\n During a Southlake board of trustees meeting May 5, Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Eric Hughes and others spoke in support of Markley and Dustin Burchfield, an assistant coach who the speakers said is also no longer with the team. Hughes said he and his sons, who are in the fifth and second grades, became \u201centrenched\u201d with the basketball program when they moved here in 2023 from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went to practices, we went to games, we went and shot whenever we could,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we feel like this is a community that loves basketball, is learning to love basketball and needs to get better at it. And these two gentlemen put their heart and soul into everything that had to do with basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n Hughes said the way the coaches were treated throughout the process was \u201cnot right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever made this decision about these basketball coaches, you should be really disappointed in yourself,\u201d he said, echoing a phrase that affected him as a child when his father would say it.\u201d<\/p>\n Markley wasn\u2019t the only controversial coaching change made by Carroll ISD. Kevin Murphy, one of the most successful swimming and diving coaches in state history, was reassigned within the district recently<\/a>.<\/p>\n Murphy coached at Southlake Carroll from 2005 to 2025 and was inducted into the Carroll ISD Athletic Hall of Honor in 2017. He led Carroll\u2019s boys team to 10 state titles, including nine in a row from 2011 to 2019, and the Carroll girls won five team state championships from 2012 to 2022 and finished second as a team at this year\u2019s state meet.<\/p>\n Carroll ISD would not say why Murphy was reassigned, and Murphy declined to comment. Several parents have contacted Carroll ISD\u2019s administration to advocate for Murphy and ask that he be reinstated as Carroll\u2019s coach.<\/p>\n Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n