The head basketball coach at the Milwaukee School of Languages has been fired from his position after allegedly slapping a student-athlete during a December practice.
According to TMJ4, the coach has been identified as John Allen who also works as an art teacher at Milwaukee School of Languages.
Principal Dr. Juan Baez sent a letter to students, staff and families explaining the situation and appointing an assistant coach as the interim head coach.
“Yesterday, we received a report that one of our teachers, who is also an athletics coach at the school, had allegedly slapped a student athlete during practice before the holiday break. The athletic director immediately removed the coach from practice, and this individual is not currently working in the school. As with any such case, we will investigate thoroughly and take appropriate action. In the interim, an assistant coach has been appointed to lead the varsity team,” wrote Baez. “We understand that this situation might have been upsetting to students or staff who may have been nearby.”
While the investigation is ongoing, several current and former student-athletes spoke with TMJ4 about their experiences competing under Allen. For some, to hear that he had laid a hand on another student was unbelievable.
“If you played around, you're on the bench. If you played around too much, you're off the team. That's just what it was," Darius Teague, a former student-athlete said. "I don't feel like he would ever reach his hand back and do that."
An anonymous former student-athlete shared a different experience, unsurprised about the recent incident.
“He intimidates people. He intimidates people. People are scared of him,” they said.
MPS has not made any additional statements on the status of the investigation at this time.
