After Fresno Unified Trustee Keshia Thomas said she “sincerely apologize(s)” to former Bullard High School football coach Don Arax and his family for accusing him of calling her son the “N-word,” Arax’s lawyer dismissed the apology, calling it “public relations” rather than contrition.

“I acted on what I believed to be true and from what I believed was an honorable responsibility to stand up for children and against injustice,” Thomas said. “I have now learned that the information I relied upon concerning Mr. Arax was not accurate.”

Thomas, who terms out this year, is running for the Fresno City Council District 3 seat, against Democratic Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula.

Arax’s attorney, Brian Whelan, however, said Tuesday that the apology shifts responsibility to her son, Albert Alford Jr., who entered the public discussion when he sent GV Wire a public statement last week saying that he lied when he told his mom Arax called him the racial slur.

“This is not an apology. It is the latest version of a story that finally ran out of places to go,” said Whelan in a statement to GV Wire. “After more than four years of litigation and contradictory sworn testimony, Ms. Thomas now says for the first time that she was simply given ‘inaccurate’ information. Yet, she still cannot say the obvious: ‘I falsely accused Don Arax.’ ”

Alford’s Legal Declaration v. His Media Response

Alford’s public statement directly contradicted a legal declaration made by him in July. At that time, he said under oath that he had never told his mother anything about Arax using the racial slur.

“At no time did Coach Don Arax ever call me the word ‘n—–,’ ‘n—-,’ the ‘N-word,’ or any other racial slur. I never heard Coach Arax use any racial slur or make any derogatory or racially offensive remark about me,” Alford’s declaration stated. “At no time did I ever tell anyone, including Keshia Thomas, that Coach Arax used a racial slur against me.”

Alford’s attorney did not respond to a request to clarify the record.

It was that declaration that led to the collapse of the trustee’s legal defense.

After receiving that declaration, Whelan told GV Wire that he felt bad for Alford having to go against his mom. He then offered to keep it quiet as long as Thomas agreed to drop any defense saying that what she said was true or that what she said was conditionally privileged. Conditional privilege is a legal argument protecting speech against public figures as long as it’s made without malice.

The declaration also spurred the district to make a public statement about the case — something Fresno Unified rarely does.

On Thursday, School Board President Veva Islas told GV Wire that because of the declaration and because of a 2025 deposition from Thomas, the district decided it could not trust Thomas and that the board would consider dropping her legal coverage.

“The Board agreed to pay Trustee Thomas’s legal fees prior to any knowledge that there was a conflict between her original statement and the information shared during her subsequent deposition and a declaration from her son,” Islas told GV Wire in a statement.

The Fresno Teachers Association on Monday called on Thomas to resign, citing loss of community trust.

Fresno Unified Fanned Accusations Against Arax

Throughout 2022, Fresno Unified recirculated news stories about Thomas’ accusations against Arax and developments around the case.

With the trial scheduled for December, Whelan said the jury will have a chance to decide how those actions, along with Thomas’ accusation, have affected Arax.

“At a jury trial, Mr. Arax welcomes Ms. Thomas finally admitting that her accusation was false,” Whelan said. “A jury can then decide the tremendous harm caused by her words — and by FUSD’s republication and ratification of them — and what both should be required to pay for that significant harm.”

Keshia Thomas Apology Statement

Albert Alford Jr. Legal Declaration