Brentwood Academy is a coeducational Christian independent
college preparatory school
A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...
located in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.wave of private schools formed in response the court ordered desegregation of public schools. Brentwood Academy's leaders claimed the school was established to provide a sound, Christian education in a safer environment, but the sociologist Jennifer Dyer has argued that the school's stated objectives were simply a "guise" for the school's actual objective of allowing white parents to avoid enrolling their children in racially integrated public schools. Despite the school's claim that it was not founded for the purpose of racial segregation, it did not enroll any Black students until 1974, and did not have a Black graduate until 1980.
Applications to Brentwood Academy increased in 1980 after court rulings expanded
desegregation busing
Race-integration busing in the United States (also known simply as busing, Integrated busing or by its critics as forced busing) was the practice of assigning and student transport, transporting students to schools within or outside their local s ...
in Nashville. At the time, only four of Brentwood Academy's 360 students were black.
In 2001, Brentwood Academy was a party in the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), along with the affiliated Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA), is an organization which administers junior and senior high school sporting events in Tennessee. The TSSAA ...
after the school was penalized for "undue influence" in recruiting football players, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. The court in this case held that a statewide association, incorporated to regulate interscholastic athletic competition among public and private schools, is regarded as engaging in state action when it enforces a rule against a member school.
In 2016, after the election of Donald Trump, a group of students held a rally in which they antagonized students of color with racist chants within the halls of the school. The schools response was that "God is in control" of politics. In 2021, a group of alumni known as the Brentwood Academy Anti-Racism Community complained to the board of trustees about insensitivity displayed to minorities, specifying among other things issues that occurred after the murders of Michael Brown and George Floyd, but noted months later that no action was taken by the school administration.
In 2017, Brentwood Academy was accused of telling their staff not to report child abuse, including the rape of a 12-year-old child.
Kent Austin
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) player and coach
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Derek Barnett
Derek Anthony Barnett (born June 25, 1996) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee, and was drafted by the Eagles with the 14th overall pic ...
, NFL defensive end for the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
*
Kody Bliss
Kody Andrew Bliss (born February 21, 1985) is a former American football punter. He attended Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee before signing in 2003 to play collegiately at Auburn University. He is currently an emergency medicine reside ...
, football playerhttps://tssaasports.com/school/index.cfm?id=36&sportid=1
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Ryan Carrethers
Ryan Carrethers (born February 26, 1991) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arkansas State
Arkansas ( ) is ...
, football player
*
King Dunlap
King David Dunlap V (born September 14, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh rou ...
, former professional football player for the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
Camron Johnson
Camron "Cam" Blais Johnson (born April 12, 1999) is an American football wide receiver from Madisonville, Kentucky who currently plays for the Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the Vanderbilt Commodores ...
, football player
*
Dawson Knox
Dawson Alan Knox (born November 14, 1996) is an American football tight end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss.
Early years
Knox attended St. Paul Christian Academy and Brentw ...
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
.
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Mike MacIntyre
George Michael MacIntyre (born March 14, 1965) is an American football coach. He is the head coach at FIU Panthers football, FIU. MacIntyre served as the head football coach at San Jose State University from 2010 to 2013 and the University of C ...
, football coach
*
Jason Mathews
Samuel Jason Mathews (born February 9, 1971) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Indianapolis Colts (1994–1997) and the Tennessee Oilers/Titans (1998–2004).
Early years
...
, football player
* Bubba Miller, football player
*
Jalen Ramsey
Jalen Lattrel Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State Seminoles football, Florida State and was drafted by the ...
, professional football player for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
John Vaughn
John Vaughn (born June 15, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college footb ...
, football player
*
Scott Wells
Scott Darvin Wells (born January 7, 1981) is a former American football center. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He won Super Bowl ...
, retired professional football player
Other athletes
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Andrew Bumbalough
Andrew Bumbalough (born March 14, 1987) is a runner who specialized in various middle and long distances in track. He represented the United States at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and at the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup. After ...
, athlete
*
Kennedy Chandler
Kennedy Collier Chandler (born September 16, 2002) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers bask ...
, basketball player
*
Shannon Doepking
Shannon Doepking is an American, former collegiate right-handed softball catcher and current head coach at Syracuse Orange softball, Syracuse. She played her college softball at Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball, Tennessee, helping them to a run ...
, softball player and coach
*
Victoria Dunlap
Victoria Dunlap (born September 19, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a basketball player who most recently played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. She had previously played at the University of Kentucky.
K ...
, basketball player
* David Harrison, basketball player
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Darius Garland
Darius Kinnard Garland (born January 26, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Born in Gary, Ind ...
, basketball player for the
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
of the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
*
Bryce Jarvis
Bryce Martin Jarvis (born December 26, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Jarvis was selected 18th overall by the Diamondbacks in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
Amateur career
Jarv ...
, baseball player*
Nicholas Nevid
Nicholas Nevid (born 1960) is a retired world-champion American swimmer. He is now a physiologist with a strong interest in marine biology.
Nick grew up in Elm Grove, Wisconsin. His sister is Nancy Nevid Kryka, a member of the Minnesota Masters ...
, swimmer*
Jacob Stallings
Jacob Daniel Stallings (born December 22, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. In 2021, Stallings won the Gold Glove ...
, MLB catcher for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
*
Brandan Wright
Brandan Keith Wright (born October 5, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Growing up in Tennessee, Wright fast became a standout at his high school Brentwood Academy, earning three "Mr. Basketball" titles, a feat no player ...
, former NBA player for the
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
Musicians
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Ashlyne Huff
Ashlyne Anderson Huff (born August 28, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is the daughter of Nashville record producer and session-guitarist Dann Huff, the granddaughter of Nashville arranger Ron Huff and the niece of Giant ...
, singer-songwriter and dancer
*
Dann Huff
Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...
DeAndre Kpana-Quamoh
DeAndre Tejan Kpana-Quamoh (March 17, 1998 – May 22, 2016) was a high school track and field star at East Nashville Magnet School. He qualified for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 TSSAA track state championships but was fatally shot five days prior t ...
Hubie Smith Arthur Hubert "Hubie" Smith is a basketball coach in Tennessee. He has coached at three colleges as well as boys and girls at three high schools, winning seven state championships: two with girls and 5 with boys.
Player
Smith played high school bas ...
, Tennessee High School Hall of Fame basketball coach, only coach to win state championships with both boys and girls.
*
James Wilhoit
James Howell Wilhoit II (born June 30, 1983) was the placekicker for the University of Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers football, football team between 2003 and 2006 Tennessee Volunteers football team, 2006.
High school
Wilhoit attended Henders ...