HS Basketball Coach Resigns After Video of Locker Room Profanities Spreads Online

A high school basketball coach in Kentucky has resigned following an investigation into his locker room behavior. It all started when a player posted a video to Facebook of the coach repeatedly using foul language and berating the team in the locker room.

Tyler Wagner was the head coach at Lynn Camp High School in Knox County, K.Y, and led the team for only one season. Wagner was a graduate of the same high school. He then went on to play basketball at the college level, and he has been an assistant coach at three other high schools.

The videos have been shared more than 3,500 times on social media at present. In the footage, Wagner can be seen in the corner of the frame and his words are clear. He issues a string of profanity at the players, blaming them for their losses and place at the bottom of the division.

Prior to Wagner’s resignation, the school district released a statement saying, “Knox County Public Schools, both at the school and district levels, continue to investigate the social media post showing a coach inappropriately addressing issues with players in the locker room. We are unable to discuss personnel matters and cannot comment further at this time. KCPS stresses the importance of sportsmanship by all involved as a pillar of our school district’s athletic programs.” 

According to the Lexington Herald, Wagner himself also released a statement saying, “The language that I used in this video is not acceptable in any manner. I allowed the competitive environment to get the best of me and for that I am truly sorry. I have fully accepted that what I did was not right, and I pledge to be better.”

Public response to the video has been mixed, with some commenters on the Facebook post calling for the school district to fire him while others placed blame elsewhere, saying, “these kids are soft” or “this is very normal locker room talk.”