A girls’ high school soccer coach has been suspended after an obscene photo taken with his team was posted to social media.
In the photo, Marco Duran, head coach of Rockwall-Heath High School girls’ varsity soccer team, can be seen standing behind his team with his arms raised as the uniformed players in front of him give the camera the middle finger.
The photo eventually made its way to social media where it was viewed by Rockwall parents and administrators.
Rockwall Indpendent School District released the following statement, which was obtained by Dallas-baed KTVT-TV:
Rockwall ISD and our athletic program have a high standard of good character and sportsmanship for our student-athletes. The actions of the students and coach in the photo are disturbing and do not reflect the culture or belief of excellence for Rockwall-Heath High School or the girls varsity soccer team. We became aware of the photo on Monday and took swift action. Appropriate action has been taken in response to the student involvement and the coach is currently on administrative leave.
An offensive photo of the @RHHSHawks girls varsity soccer team has surfaced, and the coach is now on leave. https://t.co/LDeDoHH8hT
— CBSDFW (@CBSDFW) February 2, 2018
The incident is still under investigation, but some say the picture doesn’t tell the whole story. A group of parents from Rockwall are defending the coach. Carl Vinesett told the Dallas-Forth Worth CBS affiliate, CBS11, that Duran “preaches respect to the girls,” and “doesn’t deserve to take the fall for the incident.”
A lot of parents are really supportive because they know his intention wasn’t bad,” said Paola Fite. “From what our daughter said, he just wanted to get in the picture, but he didn’t necessarily know what was going on.”
A man named Rodney Hooper posted to Twitter, saying that Duran had “photo bombed” the picture and did not know about the girls’ obscene gestures when it was taken.
