High school girl’s softball team members complained on Friday to administrators about a coach they say humiliated and embarrassed them.
Fifteen students from the the girls' varsity and junior varsity softball team at Patriot High School in Jurupa Valley lodged their complaints.
They say coach Dwayne Mason criticizes them in front of their peers, tells them their skills are sub-par and leaves them in tears.
Some of the girls' parents are so concerned that they've pulled their kids out of the program.
Rose Estrada, a parent, said she couldn't handle seeing her daughter come home crying.
"As a mom of six daughters, it kills me to have to pick up, pick up the pieces of somebody that's just been crushed," said Rose Estrada, whose daughter, Cassandra, said she was bullied.
Added Cassandra: "(Mason's) just constantly told me, that I won't really amount to anything and belittled me and bullied me."
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Mason, who also works as an art teacher at the school, declined to comment.
Unnamed sources say the group have an ax to grind, based more on their desire for more “field time,” a claim those making the claims deny.
School district officials defended Mason, saying in a statement, he is "an upstanding character" and "an excellent art teacher."
But, they said, "Nobody gets a free pass. If Mr. Mason or any member of the staff at (the district) does something inappropriate, they would be disciplined."
