SerpApi.Org
A Fresno City Council candidate will remain a defendant in a defamation case brought by a high school football coach after a judge denied the candidate’s motion for dismissal.
Former Bullard High School football coach Don Arax sued Keshia Thomas and the Fresno Unified School District, alleging Thomas made remarks in a 2022 podcast that damaged his reputation. According to the lawsuit, Thomas alleged on the podcast that Arax used a racial epithet referring to Black people toward her son at a football camp years ago. Thomas is Black, and Arax is white.
Arax now coaches at Central Valley Christian in Visalia.
Thomas is a Fresno Unified trustee. She is also running for Fresno City Council on Nov. 3.
Arax denied he made the remark and filed the lawsuit in 2022. Thomas - whose defense is funded by the taxpayers - filed motions for summary judgment and summary adjudication motions to dismiss herself from the case. She claimed that her remarks were protected as an elected official and that Arax was a public figure - increasing the threshold needed to prove defamation.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan issued the tentative ruling Monday afternoon denying Thomas’ motions, found here starting at page three.
“Thomas fails to meet her initial burden of persuasion and production to prove that Arax cannot establish an element of the defamation cause of action or she has a complete defense,” Culver Kapetan wrote. “The court denies the motion for the additional reason that Arax raises a triable issue of material fact.”
Thomas made the remarks during an appearance of a podcast from Fresno-based news publication GV Wire. She was responding to a controversial photo that emerged from Bullard High at the time. A viral photo showed a student wearing what some called a “KKK” style hood. Others said the student was imitating a contestant on “American Ninja Warrior.”
“Then my son, my middle son, goes to football practice, where he has Arax calling him (racial epithet) and he decides he’s not playing for Bullard anymore. Ok. And he ends up playing at Edison,” Thomas allegedly said on the podcast.
Attorneys for Arax and Thomas did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment.
Case headed to December trial
Culver Kapetan noted that a new piece of evidence in her opinion as another reason for denying Thomas’ motions. During a 2025 deposition, Thomas denied saying Arax used the racial epithet against her son. That could raise an issue to be brought up during trial, the judge said.
A hearing on Thomas’ motion for summary judgment is still on the court calendar for Tuesday.
A similar motion to dismiss FUSD from the case is scheduled for Oct 7. A trial is set for Dec. 7.
