A high school football coach in Edinburg, Texas, is facing an ongoing civil trial over allegations that he forced students to work out naked. The Edinburg Consolidated School District is also a party in the lawsuit, alleging that it covered up the case and handled the issue internally rather than turning it over to law enforcement.
This week, Coach Ernie Alonzo, ECISD Superintendent Mario Salinas, ECISD Police Chief Ricardo Perez, and others testified during a hearing on one of two civil lawsuits in the case.
The case stems from a March 2024 incident in which Alonzo allegedly ordered a group of students in the showers to do calisthenics without allowing them to get dressed. The coach is not facing any criminal charges in the matter.
The local TV station, KRGV, reported on a hearing in the pending lawsuit, where Alonzo and school officials were called to the stand to testify.
During his testimony, Alonzo claimed that the students were lying and that he had never forced anyone to work out in the nude. When asked if he thought it was appropriate to have students work out naked, KRGV quoted Alonzo as saying, “Depends on what you consider nude.”
The claims made during the hearing and in the lawsuit also point to the ECISD Police starting an investigation and then stopping it after “unnamed ECISD administrators” ordered it to be halted. The district reportedly went for an internal review, KRGV reported.
Perez, the school police chief, said that a case was turned over to the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office, but that they had not found a criminal offense.
This week, the ECISD Superintendent Mario Salinas issued a letter announcing his retirement. A motive for the retirement was not given. Also this week, the local radio station KURV reported that ECISD had suspended Alonzo following the testimony that went public in connection with the 2024 case.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, ECISD has been tied to multiple controversies, including the cover-up of various verbal and video death threats made against students by other students. In one of the cases, school officials ordered that the video threats be erased, and instead of investigating the case and taking disciplinary action, they gave the parents of the targeted students empty promises of safety.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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