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Four Cascade Track Coaches Asked To Resign, School Starts Investigation

Last updated on Friday, May 3, 2013

(CLAYTON) - Four Cascade High School track coaches have been asked to resign after their punishment of athletes.

Brooke Martin of WISH TV8 reports that Cascade Junior Taylor Wilson loves proving people wrong.

"No one expects me to be able to jump over that and I'm this short," said Wilson.

But when Wilson's mom saw his hands Wednesday, he had a hard time proving he was okay.

"I told my mom not to do anything about it. It was fine. I've had blisters before and even though they popped I said, 'It's fine, we can just wash it out with soap,'" said Wilson.

It's the result of punishment. Three quarters of the track team skipped practice last week and bear crawls was the consequence.

Little did the coaches know that punishment would itself bear severe consequences.

"It's really upsetting. Like, it hurts me really bad," said track athlete, Miranda Chastain.

All four coaches were asked to resign. Their teaching status is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

In a statement, the school said in part, "We sincerely apologize to the parents and assure them we do not condone, nor will we tolerate, this type of behavior from our school employees."

The track team is furious.

"They were just trying to prove their point that we did something wrong and we needed to be punished for it. There was no intent for anyone to be hurt," said track athlete Levi Musson.

"We have blisters on our hands from doing weight lifting. I mean, are they going to fire teachers for letting them do weight lifting? What's the difference?" asked another team member.

Taylor agrees - believing his punishment shouldn't have resulted in theirs.

"Do something but not fire them."

Those we spoke with on the team said the bear crawl punishment common for sports practices and that when the coaches saw their blisters, they had them stop.

The school didn't take any chances. Administrators said they even called the Department of Child Services.

The statement from Dr. Jill Jay, Assistant Superintendent with Mill Creek Community School Corporation was released Thursday afternoon:

"Last night, we became aware of an incident involving the boys' and girls' high school track team and inappropriate conduct by the team coaches. We immediately began an investigation and interviewed those involved. In addition, our office contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services.

We sincerely apologize to the parents and assure then we do not condone, nor will we tolerate, this type of behavior from our school employees. We have requested that all four coaches resign from their coaching positions and they have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation."

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