Washington high school basketball coach fired after lawsuit alleges sexual assault and exploitation

Jake Jackson, the boys basketball coach at Sumner (Washington) High School in Pierce County, has been fired amid an investigation into allegations of sexual assault and exploitation by a former player.

Sumner-Bonney Lake School District spokesperson Elle Warmuth told SBLive Thursday that Jackson's contract has been terminated. The Seattle Times first reported on the lawsuit Thursday morning.

He was initially placed on unpaid administrative leave in late August amid investigations by the district and the Sumner Police Department. 

Former Beamer High School boys basketball coach Dr. Jarrett Mentink has been hired as the interim coach at Sumner for the 2022-23 season, according to the district athletics website.

According to the Seattle Times' article, the accuser said Jackson, who is not a teacher in the district, began communicating with the teenager through social media in 2017 before he was a high school student.

Over the years, Jackson began giving the teenager complimentary equipment and apparel from Sterling Athletics, where the coach was the CEO and where the teenager helped out at, as well as money, according to the Seattle Times.

The accuser said the relationship took a turn to more of a sexual nature - unwanted aggressive advances by the coach, according to the article.

Jackson also spent four seasons (2012-16) as the boys coach at Peninsula High School, also in Pierce County, before replacing Brett McDaniel at Sumner.