LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – An employee listed as a PE teacher at a Lancaster County high school is on paid administrative leave following reports that football players he was overseeing during a weightlifting session suffered injuries while being punished for making cat sounds, according to documents obtained by Queen City News.
Sam Sinclair, an employee with Buford High School, has been placed on leave with pay pending the investigation. The report filed with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office stated that during a weightlifting session on August 16, students were making a ‘meowing’ sound and Sinclair became agitated when no one came forward or fessed up to making the sounds.
The coach then chose to ‘punish’ all of the students by taking them out to the turf field in 93-degree temperatures and having them do bear crawls and crab walks. Some of the students suffered blisters, according to the report.
Several students then expressed interest in seeing the team doctor to have their hands wrapped, at which point the coach would not allow them to do so, the report stated, and several of those players were unable to participate in a scrimmage the following day due to the injuries sustained.
The investigator stated that turf fields can be 20 degrees hotter than the actual temperatures.
While names have not yet been released, three 15-year-olds, a 17-year-old, and an 18-year-old are listed as potential victims in the sheriff’s report.
The investigator also stated that several other players were reported to have not come forward even though they sustained minor injuries. The investigator said multiple students didn’t speak up out of fear of further enraging Sinclair. The investigator then stated that he reached out to those students, who corroborated what others had said including one student whose blisters had opened, exposing his skin. Those injuries were later classified as third-degree burns by the team doctor, according to the investigator. Six players in total ended up having their hands wrapped, the investigator was told while conducting interviews in the wake of the incident.
Sinclair met with the investigator the following Wednesday and during the discussion corroborated some of what the investigation had previously revealed, including the meowing and subsequent exercises on turf.
Despite parents expressing displeasure at the solicitor’s office’s decision not to press charges, the school is continuing to investigate the matter and no charges are expected to be filed at this time, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Lancaster County School District released the following statement to Queen City News.
“The employee has been placed on administrative leave with pay. Lancaster County School District cannot comment further at this time due to this being an ongoing investigation into a personnel matter.”
