More than a week after former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze
abruptly resigned for a "pattern of personal misconduct," former students at storied Briarcrest Christian have spoken out.
USA Today reports three women who attended the Memphis high school - where Freeze was a coach and depicted in the movie "The Blind Side" - shared stories of inappropriate behavior.
Katie Dalmasso, 27, told a story of wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt, which violated the dress code. She said Freeze made her remove the shirt in his presence.
"Coach Freeze pulled me in his office and told me that my shirt represented drugs,'' Dalmasso told USA Today. "I said, 'I'll go change in the bathroom,' and when I said that he said, 'No, you're going to change in here so I get the (Grateful Dead) shirt and you can't have it back.'
"He didn't do anything sexual. But I stood in the corner and faced the wall when I did it and I changed out of my shirt. No privacy.''
A second woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper Freeze was "hyper attentive'' to the length of her skirts. She said he stayed in the parking lot while she went to her car to change.
She went on to say when she and football players were disciplined the football players had the option of being paddled as opposed to detention.
She decided to take that option as well, but was "shocked" when he administered the paddling and not a female teacher.
"(Freeze) did some bizarre warm-up taunt before actually making contact,'' the woman told USA TODAY. "I was humiliated that he didn't have a female in the room.
"I don't know if the acts were intentionally sexual or if he was really that oblivious to the inherently sexual nature of his approach to discipline.''
Both Freeze - through his attorney - and Briarcrest Christian both released statements Sunday adamantly denying the accusations.
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