The St. Joseph (Mo.) School District is looking into a video that surfaced showing a girls’ basketball coach lecturing a player for reporting head pains to the team’s athletic trainer.
The video was allegedly recorded last winter. The Benton High School player’s report to the athletic trainer would have triggered the district’s concussion protocol, which can disqualify a player from practice and games.
In the video, which was reported by the St. Joseph News-Press, head coach Kerstyn Bolton is seen telling the player to expect punishment for telling the athletic trainer about her head pains, saying she can expect “the worst 30 minutes of your life” in future practices.
Bolton also told the player she betrayed the team’s trust by speaking independently with the athletic trainer, Kaci Ludwig of Mosaic Life Care. Bolton also repeatedly uses profanity in the video.
“I’m not saying you didn’t get elbowed in your head,” Bolton tells the player. “Your head probably does hurt. But enough to be out for five days? No. No. No. I’m not gonna dig into that. I’m not gonna, I’m not gonna buy it, and you’re gonna have to earn some trust back for some people. Which is gonna suck. You understand?”
Dr. Gabe Edgar, assistant superintendent of business operations for the school district, said the school just received a copy of the video in recent days. He said the investigation is expected to conclude in the coming days.
