Bullard High football coach Don Arax, left, and FUSD trustee Keshia Thomas, right, are shown.
Fresno Bee file photos
The son of Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas — currently defending a defamation lawsuit against a former district football coach — said the allegation that launched the lawsuit was not true.
Albert Alford Jr. tells The Fresno Bee — in a statement issued by his attorney Michael Hergenroether — that the story of being called a racial epithet by then-Bullard High School football coach Don Arax decades ago did not happen.
“I recognize I should have come clean sooner, and I sincerely apologize for not doing so,” Alford said, in part, in his statement released Thursday evening.
In 2022, Thomas repeated the story of Arax using the racially charged word to her son as she was being interviewed on a GV Wire podcast. Thomas appeared on the “Unfiltered” show after a controversial photo of a Bullard High School student surfaced on social media.
Arax, a longtime football coach, left his position, and sued Thomas and Fresno Unified for defamation. The case remains active.
Thomas is currently running for Fresno City Council against Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno.
“I am not going to make a statement yet,” Thomas told The Bee on Friday morning.
Last month, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled that Thomas would remain a defendant, denying a motion to dismiss her from the case.
Fresno Unified filed a motion to dismiss the district from the case. That will be heard Oct. 7. A trial is scheduled to start Dec. 7.
“Coach Arax has lived with this false accusation for more than four years, while Fresno Unified republished it thousands of times to its own employees. The damage to Coach Arax’s name and reputation has been enormous. He is ready for his day in court—to clear his name, and hold ALL responsible parties accountable,” Arax’s attorney, Brian Whelan, told The Bee.
Arax is now coaching at Valley Christian in Visalia
Thomas’ son speaks out
Hergenroether issued a statement on behalf of Alford, now an adult.
“I want to set the record straight about allegations contained in the lawsuit between Don Arax and my mother,” Alford wrote to The Bee.
Alford said he attended a football camp as an eight grader in 2013, hoping to play for Arax at Bullard High School the following year.
“While at the camp, another player told me that Coach Arax used the N-word so I decided I didn’t want to play football at Bullard. When I got home from the camp, I told my mom that I heard Coach Arax use the N-word, not about me, just that I’d heard him say it, even though that wasn’t true. After that, I ended up going to a different high school,” Alford said.
After the 2022 incident, when images surfaced of a Bullard student wearing what some thought was a KKK-hood, and others said was the student mimicking the “American Ninja Warrior” TV show, Alford said he spoke again of his 2013 incident with his mother.
“But I didn’t come clean about the truth at that time. A few days ago, I told my mom the truth about what happened in 2013 and apologized for the consequences of my past story. It was never my intention to cause anyone any problems. I was 14 years old when I told my mom the story in 2013, and was really bothered by what I heard about Coach Arax. I recognize I should have come clean sooner, and I sincerely apologize for not doing so,” Alford said.
Alford filed a declaration with the court on July 27.
“I never heard Coach Arax use any racial slur or make any derogatory or racially offensive remark about me. At no time did I ever tell anyone, including Keshia Thomas, that Coach Arax used a racial slur toward me,” Alford said.
Attorney: inconsistencies in son’s statement
After this story first published, Whelan found inconsistencies in Alford’s statement.
“What Mr. Alford told the press late last night does not match the declaration he signed under penalty of perjury while represented by his own lawyer,” Whelan said.
Hergenroether, Alford’s attorney, declined to comment.
Fresno Unified did not respond for a request for comment.
District paying Thomas’ legal fees
Through June 9, the district has paid $235,330 in defense fees for itself. It has also paid Thomas’ defense costs of $134,421.
A district spokesperson told The Bee after this story first published, that the Fresno Unified board will meet at a future meeting to reconsider providing Thomas’ legal fees. While the fees are currently covered, they have not indemnified Thomas. That means if a judge finds Thomas liable for damages, she would be on her own to pay, and not covered by the district.
Thomas is represented by Clovis attorneys Bruce Berger and Joshua Milton.
Thomas Johnston, a Los Angeles-based attorney, represents the district.
The attorneys did not respond to messages from The Bee.
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Bee reporter Leqi Zhong contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 14, 2026 at 11:03 AM.
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The Fresno Bee
David Taub joined the Fresno Bee in 2026 after reporting 10 years for digital publication GV Wire. He has worked in the Fresno market since 2007. Prior to moving to the Central Valley, he worked for TV and radio stations on the Central Coast. He has also worked behind the scenes in local TV and radio. During his career, he has covered City Hall, the state Capitol, the White House and several houses of government in between. When not in a reporting capacity, he works tracking stats for the Fresno Grizzlies as an official scorekeeper, and also with televised basketball and football games. He has worked the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and several MLB games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue!