Basketball fans have criticized a high school team for filming a foul-mouthed tirade from their coach, which ultimately led to his firing.
Earlier this week, Lynn Camp High School head coach Tyler Wagner stepped down from his role after footage emerged of him berating his team.
It showed him swearing at his players a number of times during half-time of a match in 2023. His team, based in Kentucky, had scored just 14 points in the half.
Wagner told his team that they were “getting into trouble” by their opponents and questioned his team’s desire and determination.
Wagner continued, “That’s why they’re in the top two in the league, damn it. That’s why we’re at the bottom of the scale, because we think we just deserve it. We don’t want to earn it.
A high school basketball coach quit his role after footage emerged of him berating his team
But basketball fans have jumped to coach Tyler Wagner’s defense on social media
‘That’s why you get hit every game. That’s why you get a kick in the ass tonight and you get a kick in the ass on Saturday.
‘What are we doing? We have no common sense. We’re playing so far back that we can’t even do anything anymore.
“Jaiden. You’re playing all the way back here. Like, what the fuck? What are we doing?
‘For example, we cannot commit a violation. I don’t understand. What is it? 12 points? 14 points? In damn half. In damn half. 14 damn points.”
But the video, which has been viewed more than a million times on social media, has sparked strong reactions from basketball fans, who claim the behavior is normal in a locker room.
One fan wrote: ‘Soft kids would rather take the coach’s word for it than play hard. Once they graduate, life will throw more than bad words at them.”
Another commented: ‘Wait, this is it??? My high school hockey coach was 100x worse than this. It was normal.’
“If a coach hasn’t spoken to you like this yet, I don’t know what to tell you,” a third added.
“This was the norm ten years ago, kids had softened up to absorb this,” wrote another.
A fifth added: ‘I don’t see anything wrong. Children get carried away in their game and find recording for social media more important than winning.’
In a statement announcing his resignation, Wagner vowed to “do better” and apologized to his players and their parents.
He wrote: “I would first like to apologize for a recent video that has been made public. The video was recorded last year, fall 2023, at the very beginning of our season.
“The language I used in this video is not acceptable in any way. I allowed the competitive environment to get the best of me and I am truly sorry for that.
“I have fully accepted that what I did was wrong, and I promise to do better. I’m not perfect, and I’ve never claimed to be.
“I would like to apologize to my players who were in the locker room, to the parents of those players and to the students of Lynn Camp High School. I’m really sorry you had to hear that and be part of this controversy.
“My actions were not acceptable, my language was not acceptable and I have to be a better example if I want to be a head coach or a mentor to my players.
“I am stepping down as head coach of Lynn Camp Boys Basketball, resigning effective immediately and intend to work on myself and become a better representative for my school, my family and the children at our great school.”