A Southern California high school baseball coach was suspended Tuesday after an expletive-laden tirade recorded by one of his players surfaced online.
The 17-minute audio recording is allegedly of La Mirada High School Athletic Director Thomas Kim Brooks reprimanding his players after losing to Los Osos on April 26.
In the rant, he can be heard yelling at the players and using the F-word, among other profanities, dozens of times.
"You're pathetic," the coach said in the recording. "I don't give a f--- what you're doing, I give a f--- what the team does. You don't get it, bunch of selfish little boys, that's what you are."
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"You were piss f------ poor today," the audio continued. "If you go up to that f------ plate and do you're f------ thing, f--- you, I'll pull your f------ ass out, there's no room to f--- around....That is not me, and you represent me."
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The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, which employs Brooks, and students confirmed to NBC4 on Tuesday that the man in the recording is Brooks.
His suspension comes before the team's first CIF playoff game scheduled for Thursday.
One of Brooks' players came to his defense and said the audio is a reflection of his coach's competitive style.
"He was doing what he was supposed to do, to try to motivate the team in different ways," player Omar Myzel said.
Parents and students were in disbelief.
"We all have weaknesses, we all make mistakes," one parent said. "But that is definitely not the way I would have approached it."
"That would make me not want to play anymore if that was my coach yelling at me like that," student Emilee Visser said.
The district suspended Brooks and released a statement about the recording:
"The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District has received a copy of a recording of high school teacher, baseball coach, and Athletic Director Thomas Brooks. The District appreciates the serious nature of the content of the recording, and as such is conducting a full investigation into the matter. Pending completion of the investigation, Mr. Brooks will remain on paid administrative leave in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation process."
Brooks has been with the district since 1997 and also teaches social science, school officials said.
The coach told the Whittier Daily News that it was his voice in the recording.
"My language was inappropriate," Brooks told the newspaper.
Attempts to contact Brooks were not successful, but his son told NBC4 that his father, one of the best baseball coaches he knows, is distraught.
