Nekoosa community demands answers following wrestling coaches’ firing

NEKOOSA, Wis. (WSAW) - Nekoosa Port Edwards wrestling is beginning the 2025-26 season with a new coaching team after the previous coaches were fired. It prompted community members and students to show their support for the coaches and demand answers at the latest school board meeting.

The reason for the coaches’ dismissal remains unclear. Attempts to reach the athletic director, the school board president, and the coaches on Wednesday have not been returned. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association said it was unfamiliar with any problems with the programs and directed inquiries back to the school.

Scott Thurber, the former boys’ head coach, and Brooke Thurber, the former girls’ head coach, both spoke during public comment at the most recent school board meeting. Scott Thurber shared his resume and described his coaching approach, thanking supporters. Brooke Thurber took a different approach, addressing what she called false accusations.

“Over the past weeks, both I and members of my family have been the targets of false accusations, malicious gossip, and coordinated rumor-spreading from individuals within the community, including some with close ties with district leadership and even members of the school board,” Brooke Thurber said. “These actions are not only disgraceful, they are deeply harmful and entirely unprofessional.”

Several wrestlers and families shared emotional testimonies about each coach’s character, asking the board for transparency about the firings and requesting reconsideration.

New coaches for both programs were hired and approved later in the same meeting last Wednesday.

The board also accepted Brooke Thurber’s resignation letter for her position as lead teacher at Nekoosa Academy, effective Nov. 3. In her resignation letter, she described facing increasing obstacles from the district and said she believes her values no longer align with what she is seeing from the district.

A review of Brooke Thurber’s teaching license shows it remains in good standing.

NewsChannel 7 previously featured Brooke Thurber as a wrestler as UW-Stevens Point became the first public institution in the Midwest to offer women’s wrestling as a sanctioned sport.

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