High school coach who forced crying cheerleaders to do painful splits is fired

A high school coached who was caught on camera forcing girls crying in pain to do the splits has been dismissed from his job.

Ozell Williams, a coach at East High School in Denver, was filmed pushing eight students down into the splits, while other pupils held up their arms. It is a technique known as “forced splits”.

In one clip, 13-year-old Ally Wakefield appears to cry out in pain and repeatedly asks the coach to stop pushing her down.

“What is shown in the videos is extraordinarily distressing. At that time, the decision should have been made to terminate the employment of the coach and, I believe, to report what was observed on the video to police,” Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said in a statement.

The videos were filmed by team members in June and sent anonymously to KUSA-TV in August.

“He was pushing down on the back of my right leg,” Ally told KUSA. “He was pushing like with his other knee on my back to try to keep my posture straight.”

Ally’s mother, Kirsten Wakefield, said her daughter sustained leg injuries as a result of the splits and struggled to walk afterwards. Ms Wakefield emailed the assistant principal of the school with the video on 15 June.

“I have attached a video of the forced splits she and her other team members were forced to do at cheerleading camp and practises, unless they had a doctor’s note. This is how Ally injured her leg,” she wrote.

The principal, assistant principal and athletic director then met with Ms Wakefield and her daughter, Mr Boasberg said.

“At that meeting the school leadership believed they had addressed the parent’s and student’s concerns. It’s now clear they had not,” he said.

Mr Williams had worked on occasion at Boulder High School in 2015 and 2016, but was fired after another coach saw him using a technique similar to “forced splits” at a summer camp.

Speaking to The Denver Post, Mr Williams said: “You can definitely say that what was in the video could be seen in a different light. I would love to tell my story, but I can't say anything else at this time.”

Denver police have launched an investigation into the incident. Four other employees have been placed on administrative leave, including the school’s principal, an assistant principal, an assistant cheer coach and the Denver Public Schools deputy general counsel.

Mr Boasberg said in a statement: “We are doing all that we can to support our students and families at East and throughout the district.

“We have sent notification to our athletic directors emphasising that DPS does not allow the use of “forced splits” or any other activity that puts a student’s physical or mental health at risk, or in which a student is forced to perform an exercise beyond the point at which they express their desire to stop.”