BAUXITE, Ark. (KTHV) - The Bauxite High School baseball team returned to the diamond Thursday, April 5, to play Ashdown, but two coaches remained out of the dugout while state police investigate a hazing incident that allegedly took place on a team bus.
A lawyer for the district says coaches Michael Maddox and Steven Tew are on paid administrative leave but continue to work in their teaching jobs.
Information has been hard to come by in this case. That's the nature of an investigation involving teenage children.
In addition to the Crimes Against Children division of the Arkansas State Police, attorney Rebecca Worsham confirmed Department of Human Services investigators are also involved.
The facts gleaned from a pile of documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests indicate Bauxite Miners baseball team allegedly hazed younger players on a bus with at least one of those players subject to being expelled if the allegations prove true.
Worsham also said the coaches’ contracts are being honored despite their leave from their duties on the team. By law, teachers are entitled to an appeal process if a district wants to fire them or won't renew their contract.
As the rumors of what happened on the bus began to circulate, school administrators sent a flurry of emails and texts trying to figure out what to do. They also worked to determine how to treat video footage of the incident.
They determined that parents involved would be offered the chance to see it in school offices. In all of the documents and discussions, administrators indicated someone who’s name has been redacted should be expelled and does not "represent bauxite."
Athletic director Joshua Harrison coached the team against Ashdown. Among the texts, Harrison plans to have any student athlete who engages in hazing or bullying will immediately removed from that team.