HS Athletic Director, Football Coach Resign After Teen's Death at Summer Camp

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A high school athletic director and football coach have both resigned following the death of 15-year-old football player during a team summer camp in Northern Arizona earlier this summer. 

Athletic director Lenny Doerfler and head football coach William Chipley both resigned their positions this week. 

The Phoenix Union High School District confirmed its governing board accepted the resignations at a Sept. 7 meeting, and they are no longer employed by the district. 

Both Doerfler and Chipley were placed on administrative leave after the death of Christopher Hampton during Cesar Chavez High School's summer football camp at Lakeside Blue Ridge. Hampton was discovered in Show Low Lake on July 18. 

According to AZCentral.com, the team had gone to the area for a pre-season team building camp, but Hampton was reported missing on Monday night. A search by the Navajo County Sheriff's Office that last 18 hours, with help from other law enforcement agencies and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office dive team, found Hampton's body in the lake the next day.

An investigation followed, and assistant coaches who attended the camp were also placed on leave. 

Little information has been released on how Hampton died. 


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