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Alex Cabrero Reporting"It's been hard. It's just been hard these past few days."
A popular high school girls’ basketball coach is fighting for his job, even though he says he didn't do anything wrong.
If you follow Utah high school basketball, you've probably heard the name Dave Houle, head coach of the Mountain View girls' team in Orem. The Alpine School District wants him to leave.
Recently, two of Houle's players got sick while at a tournament in Phoenix. To keep them from getting the rest of the team sick, he let the girls have his hotel room. For that, he says the Alpine School District is forcing him out.
On the court there wasn't an opponent coach Dave Houle couldn't beat, but off the court, there's one opponent he's having a tough time with.
Dave Houle: "Nothing even came close to why Vern Henshaw made his decision."
Vern Henshaw is the superintendent of the Alpine School District who Houle says is now forcing him out of his girls’ basketball head coaching job at Mountain View High.
Dave Houle: “ I didn’t do anything wrong.”
While at a tournament in Phoenix recently, he let two of his players have his hotel room. They were sick and he wanted to protect the rest of his team.
Dave Houle: “The option I chose was what was in the best interest of their safety and well being, and I had the permission of their parents completely."
Olsen is one of those parents.
Ron Olsen, Parent: "His actions are completely honorable, and I approve of them."
Olsen says he's especially upset with the school district and how, when they questioned his daughter about what happened, they wouldn't let her call him.
Ron Olsen: "There was a portion in the interview where my daughter took her cell phone out and said, ‘should I call my parents?’ They said no."
Olsen also says the school district recorded that conversation without ever telling his daughter.
Ron Olsen: “I was incensed with what went on.”
As for coach Houle, he says he didn't sleep that night, instead he read the newspaper and watched TV in the lobby. Every once in a while he checked on the girls just to make sure they were okay.
Dave Houle: “If we’re really in it for the kids and the kids are sick…Both parents were glad with what I did and were proud and supported what I did.”
Coach Houle says the school district told him to resign or be fired. So, he resigned, but then thought that would make him look guilty, so he changed his mind.
The school district released this statement: "Wednesday afternoon, Coach Dave Houle tendered his resignation stating personal and family reasons. We have accepted his resignation." The two girls said nothing happened, and again, both parents are okay with how he handled it, but obviously the school district isn't. Houle says he'll fight for his job.
