Clute mom says girls were forced to crawl around running track

CLUTE, Texas (KTRK) -- Several female basketball students said one of their coaches forced them to do bear crawls outside for almost an hour on Thursday at Clute Junior High.

"(The coach) said we had to do 200-meter bear crawls on the track and if one of us got up, the whole group had to restart," said Maci Chumchal.

Chumchal said she and her teammates were made to get on their hands and feet and crawl for almost an hour because a few of the girls were late to a previous class.

"Every pad of every finger is burned," said Shannae Chumcha, her mother. "She is the worst case out of all 40 girls."

Other parents whose children are dealing with injuries are furious.

"Instantly, I was angry," said another mother, "I don't send my kid to school to get injured. I feel like they failed."

Brazosport ISD released the following statement:

"Clute Intermediate School science teacher and girls basketball coach has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation regarding an incident within the girls basketball team. Brazosport ISD has high expectations for all employees; and all allegations are taken seriously and investigated to ensure the safety of our students."

"(My daughter) said during the whole time, kids were stopping, showing their hands, and nothing," said Chumchal.

The mother hopes this incident is truly looked into because she claims there was more than one coach there that day and no one did anything.

"They need to know that we are not adults in training for army, that's how they were treating us, we are just 7th and 8th graders in athletics class," said Maci Chumchal.