Gig Harbor athletic director out following basketball coach turmoil
Gig Harbor High School athletic director Blair Suek is resigning from her position, The News Tribune has learned.
The Peninsula School District confirmed her departure from the position in an email to The News Tribune.
“Blair Suek is resigning at the end of the school year, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors,” Peninsula School District chief of schools Michael Farmer wrote in a statement. “The GHHS athletic director position will be posted in the coming days.”
It’s unclear whether Suek’s departure stems from the recent handling of a situation with former Gig Harbor varsity girls basketball coach Michele Hackett.
Hackett was fired after a meeting with Suek in late April, during which Suek told Hackett that the “general consensus was that I wasn’t the best fit for this particular program and community” after postseason discussions with players.
In a rare reversal, the Peninsula School District stepped in less than two weeks later and announced Hackett would be returning.
“The district would like to clarify that this decision to end Coach Hackett’s tenure was made without consulting district administration, and proper administrative protocols were not followed,” district officials wrote in an email/ParentSquare post to parents in early May.
The email announcing Hackett’s reinstatement was signed by Gig Harbor High School principal Bob Marshall and Peninsula School District athletic director Wendy Malich. Suek’s name was absent.
Another headspinning development followed: Hackett announced this week she was leaving to coach the girls basketball team at Stadium High School in Tacoma.
Suek, who was formerly the athletic director at Steilacoom High School, replaced Bob Werner ahead of the 2022-23 school year. Werner had worked in the role since 2011. Suek graduated from Puyallup High School in 2009 before attending and playing volleyball at Pacific Lutheran University.
The Peninsula School District has had several athletics controversies in recent years. In 2024, a Gig Harbor student directed a racially charged reference toward a Lincoln High School basketball player during a game. The year prior, there was an investigation of a Gig Harbor basketball player allegedly using a racial slur toward a Peninsula High School basketball player during a game.
The 2023 “Fish Bowl” rivalry football game between Gig Harbor and Peninsula was marked by controversy after a player was sent to the hospital because of a late hit. The game exposed crowd-control and safety concerns, prompting it to be moved to Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
