A Washoe County School District board meeting was packed today, with many people there to support Coach Ron Malcolm. He was recently removed as a coach at Wooster High because of alleged racist comments he made to a player. The main board room was full, and supporters packed the two remaining overflow rooms as speakers came up one by one with stories of how the former coach changed their lives for the better.
“He just overall makes you want to be a better person, because he cares and he has that passion for coaching and teaching all the time," said former Wooster student, Annemarie Vogedes.
Coach Ron Malcolm, who has been with the school district for 28 years, made the comment "you're black" to a student during volleyball practice that was deemed by an administrative investigation as 'bullying.'
The comment was made during a game called 'compliments and insults' where players would compliment each other when doing well and insult one another for an error.
Former students who are support of Malcolm say they were shocked to hear what their old coach said.
“I was blown away, it's one of those moments where you hear about it and say that can’t be true, that's a mistake. And then there was the public video for the last meeting here and you watch it, it's like a jaw dropping experience," said former student Zac Bryson.
But even with these allegations, over 100 people showed to speak for over an hour and a half to support Malcolm.
"We are just losing out on a teacher and coach who is unbelievably dedicated to his job," said Bryson.
"He's a great coach and a great man, and it would be a sad day if this didn't have a positive outcome,” said Dave Zotter, a colleague of Malcolm.
Last week the student involved and her family told Channel 2 Malcolm’s comment was racist, and even when Malcolm approached the student to apologize, he allegedly made more bullying comments. The family says they want him held accountable.
We reached out to the school district, which was unable to comment on his future other than saying he remains employed as a health teacher.
