Virginia football coach faces criminal charges for alleged corporal punishment
A successful Virginia high school football coach faces criminal bullying charges after allegedly forcing a student athlete to carry weights until his "legs were raw," according to the Wytheville Enterprise.
Wytheville (Va.) George Wythe High football coach H.S. Ingo, 47, who led the Maroons to a state championship in 2012, has reportedly been charged with a pair of misdemeanors -- hazing and subjecting a student to corporal punishment -- for his alleged bullying of one of his players.
A source told the Wytheville Enterprise that the GWHS student, who was not named in the report, had been rooting for Fort Chiswell (Va.) High during a boys' basketball game between the two schools on Jan. 30. The student, a GWHS junior, reportedly has ties to the Fort Chiswell area.
The source said the coach called it punishment and told the player he could transfer to Fort Chiswell if that is what he wanted. The source said the coach made the player walk around the football field area wearing chains across his chest in an “X” while carrying 50-pound weights in each hand. The player, who weighs about 140 pounds, had to walk around the field and do squats every time one of the coaches blew his whistle. When the player reached the visitors side of the field, he had to go up and down the bleachers, still performing squats when a whistle blew, the source said.
A number of the student's football teammates were present at the time of the alleged bullying, according to the report. The backs of the boy's legs were rubbed raw by the weights, the source told the Wythesville Enterprise. A parent of one player reportedly witnessed the incident and alerted authorities.
According to the report, the boy posted a statement about the incident on Facebook. "In all honesty, I respect and love my coaches," he said. "It wasn't right, but it's not as serious as it has been said to be."
Both Ingo and another coach, Adam Hughes, have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to the local paper. Hughes does not currently face criminal charges.
