Look: Wild Girls High School Basketball Incident Goes Viral
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: A basketball rests on the floor during the quarterfinal round the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament between the Providence Friars and the Creighton Bluejays at Madison Square Garden on March 08, 2018 in New York City. The Friars won 72-68. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
An investigation is ongoing after a video of a Virginia high school basketball coach laying his hands on a spectator went viral.
Richlands High School head coach Tom Rife was recorded on video leaping over his team's bench to confront a spectator, grabbing the spectator's shirt and pushing him back. The spectator did not appear to resist during the incident.
Dr. Chris Stacy, superintendent of the Tazewell County Board of Education, said in a statement on Friday that they do not condone misconduct or behavior like that from its coaches or spectators and are currently investigating the incident.
"We are aware of the incident at the RHS basketball game and while we do not condone any misconduct from our coaches or spectators at this time we are still investigating the actions of all parties involved," Stacy said, via the New York Post.
Rife has been the Richlands High School coach for the better part of five decades. But an incident like this - especially with the footage looking so damning - could mark the end of his run with the school.
Even if Rife makes the case that he was being heckled and that the spectator deserved to be thrown out, his actions are going to be far more scrutinized.
Some are already calling for Rife's job and barring some stunning findings, that seems like a plausible outcome.
