Teacher Shawn Abel is back in the classroom after a profanity-laced pregame rant of his appeared online, forcing him to resign as coach of the Collierville High School football team.
But should he have stepped down in the first place?
The speech (which you can hear for yourself below), has sparked a flurry of debate online. According to WMCTV, the incident cost Abel his job as head coach, which he had held for two years after two decades as an assistant coach. But as of Monday he was back in the classroom teaching A.P. precalculus.
Abel commented on the recording following his firing. "You never know when someone's gonna be dressed in a uniform and sneak a cell phone that you can't see, and record what you say," Abel told WMCTV. "I'm kind of an old-school football guy, and I believe in the sanctity of the locker room. You know, if I reported everything in the locker room, half those kids would be in trouble everyday."
Although the speech is undoubtedly over the top (even the coach has admitted he let his emotions get the better of him), there are many who feel he should be reinstated. Amongst those voices is CNN contributor, LZ Granderson, who expressed his disappointment with the team, more so than with the coach.
The actions of the players make me more upset than Abel's rant.
Coach was ticked because they weren't playing together as a team. What kind of player leaks his coach's speech to the press?
A selfish one, thus proving his point.
An ABC 24 poll largely agreed with Granderson, with an overwhelming 84 percent of voters siding with the coach. Students have also set up a Facebook page calling for his return to coaching.
But there is another side to the argument. As Forbes' Bob Cook points out, he was talking to, after all, high school players. Cook also notes that in the situation there is no "sanctity of the locker room." Encouraging locker room secrecy in the wake of some disturbing hazing and coach-player relationship incidents is particularly unsettling.
Take a listen to the rant for yourself below, and tell us what you think in the poll below.
LISTEN (As Forbes notes, the image of professional wrestler Triple H. is purely for effect):