By: Joseph M. Morgan

RAINSVILLE, Ala.—After two years of waiting Coach Neal Thrash tonight finally received a hearing regarding his dismissal as the head coach at Fyffe High School. The DeKalb County BOE voted 4-1 to overturn DeKalb Superintendent Hugh Taylor's 2014 decision to fire Thrash. Terry Wooten was the only board member to vote against overturning Taylor's dismissal of Thrash as Fyffe's head coach.

"First of all, I am very humbled by all of the support from my former players, parents, other coaches—just the entire community. We saw an overwhelming amount of support," Thrash said, "I'm grateful to my wife and kids. This has been a tough two years, but they've stood by me and it has brought us even closer together. I'm also appreciative to the board for their votes and support. I hate that it had to take this long to resolve, but I'm glad that we got a decision. I will be back in the (Fyffe) gym first thing tomorrow. Right after I stop by and meet with our principal.  I'm ready to get back to work— ready to be back with my kids on the court where I belong."

Following the vote, there was a reported disagreement among attorneys about the interpretation of the board's decision. The board members with whom we spoke after the hearing strongly stated that their position is that the board's reversal of the 2014 dismissal of Thrash results in one thing: Neal Thrash is reinstated.

Thrash's Attorney Emily Mills also stated, "There is no question in our minds. Coach Neal Thrash is reinstated. He is finally Fyffe High School's basketball coach again."

Superintendent Hugh Taylor declined to comment on the outcome of the proceedings. Thrash said he will resume his coaching duties at Fyffe High School immediately.