Keeping players safe is part of any coach's job, but rarely does that duty involve a hostage situation.
A tense and potentially violent incident unfolded on a team bus last Friday, when a student traveling with the Loris (S.C.) High School soccer team held all passengers captive upon arrival at the school, claiming he wouldn't let anyone leave the bus until his missing gold necklace was returned to him.
According to The Sun Times of Myrtle Beach, police reports indicate that Zachary Jermaine Jordan, 18, marched up the bus's aisle and stated, "No one is getting off this bus until what's mine is given back to me. If not, I am going to punch anyone in the face and beat anyone down who tries to leave. I will even shoot you up it doesn't matter I have been to jail before, I've been in the streets, I don't care I want what's mine."
Student-athletes began searching their bags and looking under seats "in fear," as the team's coach put it to police, but were unsuccessful in finding the missing neckless, which was valued at $500. Jordan began confiscating players' personal items, including several cellphones. The coach tried to deescalate the situation, but was pushed and threatened by Jordan, who then began threatening players' parents, saying, "he didn't care that he would fight them also and take their stuff too," according to the police report.
That's when the coach called police. Once Jordan became aware that authorities were on their way, he left the cellphones and fled the scene. He was arrested Tuesday and charged with kidnapping, second-degree assault and battery, disturbing schools and two counts of simple larceny. As of Wednesday, he remained in jail with a $11,500 bond.
