High school football coach suspended after alleged incident at camp

Westview High School (Oregon) football coach Jamal Jones has been placed on leave following an overnight incident at a football camp on the campus of Linfield University (McMinnville).

Jones, who was also identified as a Hillsboro Police Department officer, is said to have woken up players by slapping and shaking them in the early hours of the multi-day football camp.

Westview football coach allegedly shook players awake and slapped them in camp, now suspended https://t.co/Go5rZnno63

— KGW News (@KGWNews) 26 June 2024

According to the report from KGW.com:

At around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, McMinnville police descended on the campus, which was hosting several high school football teams as part of the camp, for a “welfare check.” Police did not release the name of the accused coach, but said he was also a police officer with the Hillsboro Police Department, adding that the case was being investigated to determine if any criminal activity occurred.

Another report provided further details on the incidents:

According to a player’s statement, the coach began entering the gymnasium where the players were staying at about 1:30 a.m.

“He started with four of my teammates,” said a Westview High School football player. “He threw off their blankets and started hitting them, and then he jumped on one of them.”

The Westview student claims that things have gotten progressively worse.

“That’s when he made his biggest mistake. He walked up to a kid and slapped this young freshman,” the student continued. “He put his knee on his chest and grabbed a kid who was standing across from him by the arm and pulled him towards him. After that, I walked away because I realized something was wrong.”