What did Don Arax call Keshia Thomas in a text message? It’s not polite
As a former Fresno Unified football coach’s defamation case against the district and a trustee resumes, new court documents reveal a text message in which Don Arax used derogatory language to describe the woman he is suing.
Arax, the former Bullard High School football coach, filed his lawsuit in 2022 after Trustee Keshia Thomas alleged he used a racial slur in reference to her son at a football camp. Thomas made the allegations on the May 17, 2022, episode of the GV Wire podcast “Unfiltered.”
Hours after Thomas’ appearance, Arax texted Bullard High School Principal Armen Torigian.
“What a f---ing b-----. I’m going to sue,” Arax wrote regarding Thomas’ remark.
Thomas was on the show responding to community uproar over a photo of a Bullard High School student that circulated on social media showing a student wearing what could be construed as a white hood. Some interpreted the image as having a Ku Klux Klan motif; others, including Arax, said the student was imitating a contestant on the TV show “American Ninja Warrior.”
The Bee is not posting the photo in question and has obscured the profanity in the text messages for publication.
The picture led to news conferences denouncing it and a student walkout. The district punished the students involved with the photo.
Brian Whelan, Arax’s attorney, introduced the text exchange during a March 31, 2026, deposition of Torigian. The messages from April and May 2022, before and after Thomas’ podcast appearance, include conversations about the controversial photo and suggestions from Arax about how Torigian should react to Thomas’ comments.
The messages offer an inside look into the mindsets of Arax and Torigian in the aftermath of a racially charged issue that consumed the district and its students four years ago. The text exchanges also show critical comments from the pair about other district employees.
Thomas declined to comment to The Bee for this story, citing the ongoing litigation. Her attorney included the text messages and selected deposition testimony in a May 29 court filing. Thomas, who has served as a school board member for nearly eight years, is headed for a November runoff in the Fresno City Council District 3 race.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan was scheduled to hear Thomas’ motion for summary judgment Tuesday, but postponed it until July 21. If granted, Thomas could be dismissed from the case.
Thomas’ attorneys argue she appeared on the video podcast in her capacity as a trustee, which they say gives her greater legal protection from defamation suits. Arax should also be treated as a public figure, her attorneys say. That would create a greater burden to prove “actual malice,” a standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in certain defamation cases. Her attorneys said Arax cannot meet that bar.
Whelan argues in court filings that Arax is not a public figure.
To prove defamation damages in a case involving public figures, making a false statement is not enough. The standard is actual malice, defined by the U.S. Supreme Court as a defendant making a defamatory statement knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for whether it was false.
Mark Harris, Fresno Unified’s general counsel, declined comment. The district recently changed lawyers in the case.
In response to a public records request from Bee reporter Leqi Zhong covering May 1, 2022, to March 31, 2026, the district provided records showing it has spent $201,434 on its legal costs and $130,799 on Thomas’ legal costs.
Profanity-laced text exchanges
In court documents for Tuesday’s hearing, Thomas’ attorney included a portion of Torigian’s deposition that featured the text messages.
Hours after Thomas’ podcast appearance in 2022 Arax encouraged Torigian to make a public statement denouncing Thomas’ accusation against Arax and shared a link to a GV Wire story about Thomas’ claim.
“You need to go after her ass!” Torigian replied.
“What a f---ing b-----. I’m going to sue,” Arax responded.
How it started
On May 5, 2022 — about two weeks before Thomas’ GV Wire appearance — Torigian shared with Arax the controversial photo of a student in the weight room wearing what appeared to be a white hood.
Arax responded, “What an idiot.” The next day, Arax texted: “No one outside the education world has any idea about the picture. This is the most overplayed thing I’ve seen. What a f---ing joke.”
Thomas and then-Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson held a news conference, denouncing the photo.
“In two days, it’s over. The Edison people can f--- off,” Arax texted. Thomas represents the Edison High School area on the Fresno Unified Board of Trustees. Her sons attended Bullard.
Arax also called Thomas and Nelson, who was superintendent at the time, “idiots” who jumped to conclusions.
The texts also show Arax and Torigian discussing how to handle negative reaction to the photo.
“Here’s what frustrates me about you. You refuse to take counsel from people who can help you — an inner circle of people. It’s going to be your downfall,” Arax wrote to Torigian on May 12, about the photo incident.
Torigian defended himself.
“I’m dealing with a very week (sic) team. I can only rely on a few vp’s to do the work. The other two are worthless. Along with a campus culture who doesn’t do s--- so we have to pick up the pieces. I haven’t really slept since all this s--- happened and I’m being attacked at every angle,” Torigian responded to Arax’s text.
The messages also show Arax demanding Torigian hire certain football coaches, so Bullard could remain competitive.
“I’m being called out as a racist by a lady you allowed to keep speaking. If you don’t want to take care of my program then never ask me for anything. If you f--- this up with coach Im [sic] going to be so far up your ass your [sic] not going to be able to breathe. Man up,” Arax texted to Torigian.
In another exchange, Arax called David Chavez, the district’s chief of human resources, “a d---.”
“Lol .... right?” Torigian responds.
Torigian did not respond to an email requesting comment for this story.
Arax was released as Bullard’s head football in September 2023 after five games. The district stressed in its new release that Arax was not “fired.” He was hired in April 2024 the next season as head football coach at Central Valley Christian in Visalia.
Arax’s attorney defends texts
Whelan, Arax’s attorney, defended his client’s messages as honest reactions to the “lie” of being called a racist.
“A coach who devoted himself to helping all student-athletes achieve is entitled to be outraged when falsely branded a racist. Injustice angers just men. Damage to a reputation is often irreparable. Only a misguided person would try to weaponize a victim’s honest reaction to a lie. Even his principal (and boss) told him to sue Thomas,” Whelan told The Bee via text.
The ‘Unfiltered’ interview
The following is a transcript from Thomas’ May 17, 2022, interview on GV Wire’s “Unfiltered,” included in the court record:
Keshia Thomas: “Then my son, my middle son, goes to football practice, where he has Arax calling him a n-----, and he decides he’s not playing for Bullard anymore. OK. And he ends up playing at Edison.”
Host Darius Assemi: “Could you tell our audience ... you said Arax. Who is Arax?”
Keshia Thomas: “Yeah. He’s the football coach at Bullard. You know ... so my son, when he was starting high school — my 23-year-old — when he was starting high school, he said, ‘Mom, I am not going to play football for them because the coach is saying this to me,’ and this is before I became a trustee.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 4:58 PM.
