The athletics director at Arizona Lutheran Academy in Phoenix has been placed on leave over a back-slapping game that took place during football camp in 2017.
The camp, held in Flagstaff in the late summer of that year, included a locker room back-slapping game among teammates that left red welts on their skin, according to student sources cited by azfamily.com. Arizona Lutheran Academy athletic director David Peter then entered the locker room and students say he chose to participate in the game upon one player's invitation. Video shows one of the students slapping Peter’s bare back. After the slap, students say Peter told everyone to turn off their phones. That’s when he allegedly hit the student back.
Law enforcement and the Department of Child Safety are now looking into now nearly two-year-old incident, azfamily.com reports.
“We became aware of these allegations on Tuesday and launched an investigation,” said Arizona Lutheran Academy Principal Kurt Rosembaum. “The administration took immediate action and placed the coach on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Rosembaum added that the incident was reported to the Arizona Department of Child Safety and law enforcement in Coconino County, where the incident took place.
A woman whose two sons were in the locker room said she is disappointed by the behavior of Peter, who should serve as a role model. “I am blown away and I am shocked,” said the woman, whose identity was withheld by azfamily.com. “I hate that’s the direction that my boys were given.”
