A Jackson, Mississippi, high school basketball coach is accused of whipping students for “failing to run basketball plays correctly,” according to a federal lawsuit filed this week by three students.
Coach Marlon Dorsey acknowledged he “paddled” students, but he defended it as a way to “save these young men from the destruction of self,” the court filing said.
A school district spokeswoman would not confirm whether Dorsey has been suspended, but he has not shown up to teach or coach at Murrah High School in recent days, according to the students’ lawyer. The suspension was apparently for 28 days without pay, attorney Lisa Ross said.
The students are still attending classes and are playing on the boy’s varsity basketball team, Ross said.
One senior was whipped “daily and sometimes more than once daily by striking him three times across his buttocks each time” with a “five to ten pound weight belt,” the suit said.
One beating was captured on video, the suit said.
“He told them they had the choice to accept the licks without complaining to anyone or forfeit the opportunity to play basketball for their high school team,” it said.
CLICK: Mississippi basketball coach accused of whipping players – CNN.com
WATCH: REAL LIFE HOOSIER REUNION