Deer Creek parts way with high school baseball coach Roland Baza amid investigation
Deer Creek Public Schools has parted ways with high school baseball coach Roland Baza after an investigation conducted by the district.
A parent reached out to Deer Creek School District officials at 4:36 p.m. Tuesday about an incident that took place earlier that day during baseball practice, according to a statement from the district. Deer Creek School District then opened the investigation by 4:59 p.m. Tuesday, per the statement.
“While we believe the intent was not to harm our baseball student athletes, the primary focus for our district is the safety, well-being and development of our students now and in the future,” the statement reads. “The information gathered from our investigation determined that a change in the head coach of our baseball team is needed. We will begin the search for a new head coach in the coming weeks.”
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office has also launched a separate investigation. The school district will help with that investigation as needed, according to its statement.
As of Thursday, the sheriff’s office did not offer details regarding the incident.
“We are aware of an incident, and we are looking into it,” said Aaron Brilbeck, public information officer for the sheriff’s office. “But it’s important to stress this is still very early on in the investigation, and we aren’t even sure yet whether a crime has been committed.”
Deer Creek hired Baza as head coach in August 2019, and he previously served as an assistant.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Deer Creek parts way with baseball coach Roland Baza amid inquiry
