A high school football coach in Utah has been placed on administrative leave after families leveled allegations of extensive abuse against players.
According KPCW, Wasatch High School has launched an investigation into head football coach Jody Morgan, after parents approached the district with allegations that Morgan engaged in physical, emotional and verbal abuse of players over the past year.
According to one father who shared his story with KPCW, Morgan was "doing everything he could to just break them down and destroy them."
Parents, all of whom wished to remain anonymous in their conversations with KPCW, also say that the district brushed aside their concerns, noting that complaints date back to March of 2024.
“We have kids suicidal, and if you’ve never had a kid, there’s nothing worse,” said one parent. “We’re desperate. We’re lucky that no one has died.”
Parents described systematic abuse, saying that the coach directed his abuse at one player after another.
“[It’s] near-daily verbal assault, physical intimidation, systematic public humiliation and extensive bullying, rotating his selection of target,” one parent said. “He will harass, humiliate and totally rip down – and then he’ll move on to the next target.”
Morgan was hired back in December of 2023 following a nationwide search to replace former coach Steve Coburn, and parents say the abuse started not long after Morgan arrived.
One parent said she witness Morgan berate her son following a weightlifting session.
“He gets in my son’s face, about a half-inch away, almost touching, and he screams, ‘You’re worthless, you’re a loser, you break all the rules, you’re too weak,’” J. said.
According to KPCW, district policy defines bullying as “causing physical or emotional harm” to students and “creating a hostile, threatening, humiliating, or abusive educational environment.” One-on-one interactions with students are a violation of the district’s employee code of conduct. Staff are required to report it anytime they suspect bullying or abuse.
The extent of the abuse detailed in first-hand accounts from the parents, as well as the impacts it had on their children can be found in KPCW's reporting.
As of Nov. 22, the district had not communicated with families about the coach being on leave, though families told KPCW they had been contacted by the attorney conducting the investigation.
