State education officials have released documents related to the firing of a northern New Mexico high school basketball coach that generated upheaval.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports documents released by the Public Education Department offer details into the allegations of verbal abuse by former Espanola Valley High School head basketball coach Richard Martinez.
According to the documents, Martinez pushed and grabbed players, yelled at them and threw chairs and kicked bleachers. Documents say he also mocked shorter players and compared one struggling player to his father who had killed himself.
Martinez declined to comment on the documents.
He was fired in April by former Española superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez. Backlash over Martinez’s abrupt termination set off a chain reaction that led to Gutierrez’s resignation hours after she fired him.
