Olathe North High School officials placed head baseball coach Pete Flood on administrative leave Friday and recommended he be fired after a Black player’s father said the coach used a racial slur when talking to the teen.
The father says the incident happened Thursday before a game.
In a Facebook post, he wrote that his son, the team’s only Black player, set up speakers to play rap music while warming up. Flood walked over, the father wrote, and said, “we don’t play that (racial slur) music over here. We only play country and rock music.”
Neither Flood nor the father immediately responded to messages left seeking comment Friday.
Olathe School officials acknowledged the incident Friday afternoon and hours later placed Flood on administrative leave.
“The comments made are absolutely unacceptable,” the district said in a statement. “In the Olathe Public Schools, our priority is the well-being of ALL our students. Racist and derogatory statements will never be tolerated”
Officials also submitted a recommendation for “immediate termination” to the Board of Education. A special board meeting is planned for Monday at 8:15 a.m.
