High school football coach who hit players with wooden handle resigns

Coach who hit players with wooden handle resigns

A high school football coach in Texas has resigned after an investigation found he hit two football players with a wooden handle, the school district superintendent confirmed to Paste BN Sports on Wednesday.

Seth Hobbs stepped down as head football coach at Mineral Wells High School April 12 after a school district investigation found he had struck the players with a broom/mop handle, said superintendent John Kuhn of the Mineral Wells Independent School District.

The wooden handle is attached to a Nerf football used for drills and the incident took place April 6, according to Kuhn.

"Other students were present in the locker room and witnessed this incident," the school district said in a statement provided to Paste BN Sports. "An investigation quickly determined that the students were indeed struck by Coach Hobbs with the broom handle."

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Hobbs, who also served as the boys athletic director at the school 50 miles west of Fort Worth, told Paste BN Sports he had no comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

The incident was reported to law enforcement and the Department of Family and Protective Services, which named a special investigator, according to the district office. That investigation is ongoing, the district said.

The district administration removed Hobbs from coaching duties but offered to honor a new two-year contract in a new role, according to the district. But Hobbs turned down the reassignment and resigned effective June 30 and will be kept on administrative leave for the rest of the school year, according to the school district.

A picture of one of the students left with a mark was shared on social media, according to Kuhn.

"School systems are responsible for protecting students’ physical safety and their mental health and for maintaining a student-centered, professional school culture where students are treated with dignity, respect, and kindness," the district said. "To ensure these obligations are met, (the school district)  must ensure that staff members adhere to school district policies and professional best practices. This case represents a clear violation of district policy that simply cannot be minimized or ignored."

According to the Weatherford Democrat, Hobbs was named athletic director in Mineral Wells in January 2021 and before that served as defensive coordinator, strength and conditioning coach and U.S. history teacher.