Cheerleading coach filmed forcing girl into splits gives his side of the story

The cheerleading coach behind a shock video of a student crying out in pain while being forced to do the splits has spoken out with his side of the story.

The former coach, Ozell Williams, was fired after the videos were released earlier this year.

A police investigation began after a video showed 13-year-old Ally Wakefield being held down by four people – three students and Williams, according to the New York Post. She can be heard screaming “Please stop, please stop, please stop!” in the footage. 

But Williams said in interview with Inside Edition this week that "stop" was in fact an instruction to "not let the foot slide anymore".

"It means hold it for 15 seconds and that's when I’m counting," he said.

How do you decide when enough is enough? Listen to this episode of 9Honey's hit podcast Life Bites, on setting boundaries and saying no:

https://omny.fm/shows/9honey-life-bites/boundaries/embed?style=artwork

The ex-coach was visibly upset as he discussed the incident.

“What they made me and portrayed me to be is not who I am," he said, tears rolling down his face.

“I apologise for their perception of the video without the proper context, because that's not what's going on," he added.

Other cheerleaders who'd been at the gym on the day the original footage was taken spoke to the show, saying Williams hadn't done anything wrong.

"It looks worse than what it actually is," one said.

"It's supposed to hurt," said another. "It helps you get that split."

Parents of other girls on the team told the show they believe Williams was supporting Wakefield, not pushing her down, and that they "want his name cleared".

Video: Members of the cheerleading community are speaking out in support of Williams

 

In October it was decided that Williams would not face criminal charges.

District Attorney Beth McCann said in a statement released that there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges. McCann said that while the video showing the weeping cheerleader was "painful to watch," the coach’s actions did not constitute "a prosecutable crime," because the case could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. 

According to KUSA-TV, a total of eight cheerleaders were forced into splits in the videos. The clips had been available to the school’s admin since June, while parents were complaining about the footage for months. 

The girl in the video, Ally Wakefield told the station: “It was tearing my ligament and my muscle at the same time. He was pushing down on the back of my right leg. He was pushing like with his other knee on my back to try to keep my posture straight.”

Ally Wakefield’s mother, Kirsten Wakefield, sent the school’s assistant principal an email in June explaining that her daughter injured her leg as a result of what happened on tape.

“My husband and I would like to know what the administration is going to do about my daughter’s injury and how it happened,” the email read.

Two top officials at the school also left their roles following the release of the video. 

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg announced during a press conference that East High School principal Andy Mendelsberg would be retiring and athletic director Lisa Porter, who was also served as vice principal, would resign.

In his retirement letter, Mendeslberg did not directly address the scandal, but said that leaving was a "tough decision."

"This has been a tough decision for me," he wrote. "While my heart will always be with the East High School community, I believe it is in the best interest of the students, teachers, my family, and myself personally for me to step down in support of East moving forward."