SC football coach was placed on leave after student fight. He’ll be reinstated
An Upstate football coach will be reinstated after being placed on leave following an altercation at a summer football camp involving several South Carolina high school students.
Presbyterian College was hosting a summer football camp for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes when numerous student athletes from D.W. Daniel High School got into a fight on July 7. It left one person injured, and several others with criminal charges.
As a result, Chris Stone, who became the coach at D.W. Daniel High School in April, was placed on leave last week. He will be reinstated Aug. 9, the School District of Pickens County confirmed, and will resume both his teaching and coaching responsibilities.
“We recognize the public interest surrounding this matter, but as this is a personnel issue, the district will not provide further comment,” the school district said in a statement. “We respectfully ask that Coach Stone be allowed to return to his duties without disruption, as we focus on supporting students and staff at the start of the new school year.”
The school district said last week that it is committed to a thorough review of the situation and an investigation of the Daniel football program. Because of student privacy laws, the district said it is unable to provide specific details about the students involved or the disciplinary actions taken.
The school board also issued a statement last week saying it was informed of the incident that “resulted in the injury of one student and criminal charges for several students.” It gave no details about the criminal charges, but said the board was “appalled.”
Board members said they expect the district administration to continue investigating the matter “from the top down,” including staff, student and programmatic issues.
“This incident will NOT be swept under the rug, and all appropriate corrective and disciplinary actions will be taken,” the board said in a statement.
A video of the incident, which was obtained by The State, shows at least two students attacking another student, hitting him with multiple punches. After the student being attacked lands on the floor, another student hits him at least four times, according to another video posted by WIS-10.
After an initial investigation, the Presbyterian College Campus Police referred the case to the state Department of Juvenile Justice and the 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, officials said. The 8th Circuit includes Laurens County, the home of Presbyterian College.
David Stumbo, the 8th Circuit solicitor, said his office is working closely with the law enforcement agencies and the Department of Juvenile Justice.
“We will provide updates on the case when appropriate and as state law allows,” Stumbo said in a statement.
