TSSAA Filed Lawsuit Against Main Street Media

The association is seeking a declaratory judgment regarding the release of a student hardship waiver record.

Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Secondary Education

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a solitary courthouse pillar, evoking the tension of student privacy and public record laws. — The Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association filed a lawsuit against Main Street Media in Davidson County, seeking to block the release of student hardship records. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association has filed a lawsuit against Main Street Media in Davidson County Chancery Court. The legal action follows a public records request submitted by the media outlet for a document concerning a student athlete's hardship waiver.

Why it matters

The case centers on a dispute over student privacy rights versus public records access under the Tennessee Public Records Act. The ruling will clarify whether specific documents regarding high school athletic transfer rules must be disclosed to the public.

The lawsuit, filed on September 24, 2026, stems from an initial open records request submitted by Main Street Media on September 17, 2026. Sumner County Schools previously denied the request, prompting the association to seek a declaratory judgment.

The players

Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association

This organization regulates interscholastic athletics for middle and high schools across the state of Tennessee.

Main Street Media

This is a media organization that covers news and local events throughout Tennessee.

Sumner County Schools

This public school district operates in Tennessee and was the entity that initially denied the records request.

The details

The Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association cited a 2014 Tennessee Court of Appeals case to argue that releasing the letter could violate student privacy. Main Street Media initiated the request to better understand the application of high school athletic transfer regulations.

September 17, 2026: Main Street Media submitted an open records request.
September 24, 2026: The TSSAA filed the lawsuit in Davidson County.
September 25, 2026: The lawsuit was served to Blaine Kellar and Dave Gould.

Culture Shift

This case highlights the ongoing tension between transparency mandates in the Tennessee Public Records Act and the protected status of student records. The legal outcome will likely set a precedent for how athletic associations handle information requests about student-athlete waivers.

Residents and parents may see changes to how athletic eligibility decisions are documented and communicated by school districts. The court's decision will determine the level of public access to information regarding student-athlete transfer policies.

The takeaway

This litigation underscores the difficulty of balancing investigative transparency with the privacy rights of individual students. Families involved in the athletic transfer process should be aware that their waiver documents may become the subject of legal scrutiny.