A teacher and coach in the Canal Winchester Local School District who resigned mid-season was under investigation for bullying and using derogatory and profane language toward a high school football player, records show.
The district's human resources department sent Rob Page a formal letter Sept. 19, following that day's football practice, requiring him to remain at home during school hours, effective immediately, pending the probe "related to your behavior with a student."
Page submitted a letter of resignation on Sept. 23, effective for his coaching position as well as his teaching position as an intervention specialist.
An investigative report from the district, obtained through a Dispatch public records request, states that Page directed a student-athlete
on Sept. 19 to stand on a box in the center of the Canal Winchester High School fieldhouse while teammates participated in a workout around him.
Video of the incident shows Page repeatedly questioning the athlete about his "lateness, accountability, dependability, and attitude," with Page using "repeated profanity, personal criticism, statements concerning the student's future, statements that the student could become a criminal or end up in prison, statements that teammates would hate him."
On the video, which the district provided, Page can be heard telling the student-athlete he would end up "poor or a criminal."
At one point, Page tells the student "I am either going to change you, or I am going to make everyone hate you, andthen you quit," "If I were on your team, I would hate you" and "I would absolutely hate you for not being a reliable person," the report states.
In other records, Page responded to the claims, saying they are exaggerated and out of context. He declined to answer questions from The Dispatch.
Athletic trainer, other students also raised concerns about Page's behavior
The records indicate there were other concerns raised about Page's treatment of student-athletes in the preceding weeks.
In a Sept. 4 email to Athletic Director James Ramsey, Lee Parker, an athletic trainer assigned to Canal Winchester High School from Nationwide Children's Hospital's sports medicine department, said an athlete had gone to a recent football practice sick and was later diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, given antibiotics and told to skip that day's practice.
During an after-practice team meeting, Page began to yell at the player, calling him "selfish and would not be a good husband or father because he was soft and unreliable," according to Parker's email.
The student-athlete said Page had done this repeatedly and did not like him, "that he has been yelled at inthis manner for every injury that he has had this year and that he has had his helmet kicked across thefield" by Page.
Other students in the meeting had similar experiences, telling athletic trainers "they felt like they were being attacked as individuals rather than being coached like a football players," and that the attacks "felt personal and not just tough coaching to make them better," according to the email.
On Sept. 3, a parent emailed Ramsey that Page "repeatedly made comments that go well beyond constructive criticism,including remarks suggesting that [the student-athlete] will never be dependable as a parent or father."
The parent called Page's alleged comments "personal, mean-spirited, and wholly inappropriate in a youth athletic setting," and causing "significant distress" while undermining confidence "both on and of the field."
In one practice, Parker directly observed Page telling an athlete that he had "a little cold" and that another player was "playing with a broken finger" and that he needed to be tougher.
The ill player didn't respond to Page, returning to his position on the field before Page sought him out and continued to berate him.
On Sept. 4, Ramsey told the parent of the targeted student "In working with Coach Page, I have observed his energy and desire to have a positive impact. At the same time, I recognize that all educators benefit from ongoing growth in their practices and communication."
The parent told Ramsey that "multiple other" student-athletes have quit the team. The parent requested reimbursement of "pay-to-play" fees, presumably after their child quit.
Names of parents and students were redacted from the district records.
In an emailed response to Ramsey, Page said his comments were intended "to express how life will be hard and you must learn to do hard things."
Page said the student-athlete "has potential to be a quality football player, but lacks the fortitude and resilience to reach that potential."
Page said the athlete rejected an extra day to reconsider quitting the team, and that the athlete said he "just wanted to work" and that "his heart wasn't in sports any longer and didn't have a passion for playing."
Student emailed school administrators about Page's classroom demeanor
The investigation also included Page's role teaching English at the school.
A Sept. 24 email from Ada Nicholson-Burley, the high school principal, said students were uncomfortable and raised concerns as far back as late March about asking questions in Page's class, one student describing Page's "unpredictable" behavior.
Page agreed at the time to " 'back off a bit' if his current approach is causing discomfort," according to records.
In a March 23 email to Nicholson-Burley, an unnamed student describes classmates as being "uncomfortable" with Page's tone in the classroom. "I feel like students should be treated with respect and feel safe at school, and right now it doesn't always feel that way in that class," the student wrote.
Page told The Dispatch "They [school officials] never asked me any questions." Ramsey directed calls from The Dispatch to the district's communications office.
In a statement after Page's resignation, a district spokesperson said Page's actions were "unacceptable and inconsistent" with the district's standards for how students should be treated.
In Page's first season, Canal went 10-2 and reached the Division II, Region 7 semifinals as the region's fourth seed. Page previously coached at Big Walnut, where he received state co-Coach of the Year honors in 2021, as well as at Reading in suburban Cincinnati.
Corey Coe is interim coach for the remainder of Canal's season.
Canal won their Sept. 25 game, pushing their season record to 3-3 on the season.
Dispatch reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Canal Winchester football coach bullied players, investigation found
