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Gig Harbor girls' basketball coaches placed on leave for drinking during school trip

There were implications from the coaches that they believe the allegations stem from a dispute with a parent over playing time.

GIG HARBOR, Wash. — Documents reveal that three Gig Harbor girls' basketball coaches were placed on leave because they were accused of drinking on a team trip, in violation of Peninsula School District policy. 

The coaches implied in district interviews and emails that the allegations may have come in retaliation for a dispute with a parent over playing time.  

The three coaches were placed on leave in late January following an anonymous letter from a parent. The parent detailed instances when the coaches were allegedly seen consuming alcohol, and other instances where they allegedly drank before driving the team to different places during a trip to Palm Beach, Fla., over winter break. 

A girl on the team said she and other athletes saw two of the coaches "carrying and consuming alcohol throughout the hotel" on numerous occasions, according to the letter. One coach was accused of drinking a beer in the hot tub while athletes were using the pool. While the team was on a trip to the beach, the coaches went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate one of their birthdays. An athlete saw the coaches in the bar. After that, the letter alleges the coaching staff drove the girls back to their hotel. 

"Coaches drinking alcohol or even being present around alcohol consumption (outside of the team/parent dinner where parents drank), is disturbing and frankly infuriating," the parent wrote. "The thought of a chaperone who is DRIVING the kids to and from activities, drinking alcohol is beyond upsetting." 

Documents obtained by KING 5 include letters to the three coaches notifying them that they are being placed on administrative leave, with an attached copy of the district's drug-free schools, community and workplace policy. The policy states that employees are prohibited from using, possessing, or transmitting alcohol in any amount, in any manner and at any time in the workplace - which includes any off-district property during a school-sponsored function, like a field trip.

In interviews with the coaches, they were directly asked if they consumed alcohol on the trip. One confirmed that he did, but said he only drank inside his hotel room, and after he was done driving. He conceded that athletes may have seen him drinking while he was socializing with team parents at the hotel in the evenings, but he believed most of them were up in their rooms. 

Another coach confirmed that she had consumed alcohol on the trip, but that she didn't believe she could be considered "on duty" at that time. The third coach confirmed that he had also had alcoholic drinks on the trip, but that "At no time was I ever intoxicated." All coaches denied that they ever drank before driving any of the players. 

Documents included in the investigation also made references to a disagreement between the coaches and one parent on the team who wanted her daughter to get more playing time. One coach said he believed they were being "targeted" and that the disagreement with this particular parent had been going on for years. 

Records show that two of the coaches obtained a lawyer to represent them in the school's investigation. The attorney called the allegations "frivolous," arguing that they had been wrongfully accused and were anxious to have their names cleared before further damage was done to their reputations. 

Other letters were sent to the district regarding the investigation, including one from the parents of another athlete on the team, who said they were concerned and disappointed in how the investigation into the allegations unfolded. 

"In our opinion, this whole ordeal has resulted as an embarrassment for the district, tarnished the reputation of three great people who have been dedicated stewards in the community, and caused lasting trauma to a wonderful group of girls who did not deserve any of this," the letter reads. 

The parents who wrote the letter said they themselves were on the trip in question and never felt that their daughter was in danger or harm's way. The parents corroborated the coaches' concerns that the initial complaint was lodged over the play-time dispute with a particular parent. 

"What has happened now has dismantled this team, disrupted lives of good people for selfish reasons and puts a continued dark cloud over this program and this district," the letter reads. 

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