Former Primary Academy baseball coach Scott Baker is accused of bullying a former participant and spreading lies in regards to the participant and his household after he was fired, in line with the participant’s mother and father, with a number of claims substantiated by paperwork given to the mother and father by the Clark County Faculty District.
Sela Gaglia and Kekoa Received say Baker unfold false allegations that the household was the rationale for his firing and that they initiated the investigation that led to Primary forfeiting video games and lacking the playoffs final season.
Baker denies bullying the participant and maintains that the household was behind the investigation that led to the forfeitures and the lack of his job.
Gaglia and Received mentioned in an interview that Baker’s mistreatment of their son prompted him to have suicidal ideas however that he’s in a greater place now. The Evaluate-Journal has agreed to not reveal their son’s title.
“Baker’s therapy of our son had pushed our son into despair, and he was having ideas of not desirous to dwell any longer,” Gaglia mentioned. “Fortunately, he got here to us for assist. We obtained him into remedy and introduced the state of affairs to the varsity’s consideration.”
In an interview with the Evaluate-Journal, Baker mentioned he was by no means notified by Primary or CCSD directors that he was beneath investigation for bullying.
“I used to be by no means introduced in by Primary administration or CCSD over any bullying allegations,” Baker mentioned. “I used to be not part of any investigation for bullying whereas teaching at Primary.”
Primary and CCSD officers didn’t return a number of requests for remark.
Now, the participant is again with the workforce for his senior season, however the mother and father stay pissed off with an absence of communication from CCSD about why Primary and the district did not take what the mother and father take into account acceptable motion after the primary alleged incident in 2022 and why they allowed the state of affairs to snowball.
“We don’t have the solutions,” Gaglia mentioned. “They’re speculated to have the solutions.”
The state of affairs has led CCSD Area 3 superintendent Deanna Jaskolski to evaluate Primary’s and CCSD’s dealing with of the bullying claims, the mother and father mentioned.
The mother and father say Jaskolski can also be reviewing Primary’s determination to permit Baker to make use of an unauthorized digital system to speak with gamers and fogeys that they are saying Baker used to unfold the lies about their son.
“There have been plenty of missteps within the college’s dealing with of this example each earlier than Baker was launched and after that we have now elevated to increased ranges of the district to evaluate,” Gaglia mentioned.
Sequence of occasions
This account is predicated on interviews with the mother and father and Baker; college paperwork, some supplied by the mother and father and others obtained by the Evaluate-Journal beneath the state open information act; a restraining order request in opposition to Baker made by the household that was in the end denied; and an incident report filed by the household with the Henderson Police Division.
On April 10, Primary mentioned Baker was dismissed from his place, with the varsity saying in a press release that day that Baker is “not with the workforce.” The varsity has given no motive for Baker’s dismissal, repeatedly saying it can’t touch upon personnel issues.
Gaglia mentioned the identical day Baker was fired, one of many household’s bullying claims in opposition to him was substantiated by then-Primary principal Gerald Bustamante, in line with a doc supplied by the mother and father. She mentioned Bustamante advised her Baker was not launched due to their declare, that it was for personnel issues and “that it was an unlucky case of timing.”
That was not the impression Baker had. He believed the household had reported him about the usage of probably ineligible gamers, in line with data shared in a bunch chat that was reported to the household by different mother and father. Primary already had been pressured to forfeit not less than 4 video games over ineligible gamers and was beneath investigation for extra potential forfeits.
“After being launched, Scott Baker instantly eliminated our son from the communication platform Bustamante had allowed him to handle unsupervised and started assembly with mother and father and gamers to smear our son and our household,” Gaglia mentioned. “Baker advised households that we have been answerable for him being fired and for a number of children being deemed ineligible for recruiting violations. Households current shared with us that Baker went as far as to say that our household had adopted children dwelling and videotaped them with out their information, which was an entire fabrication. This lie created hysteria amongst the gamers and households.”
Unaware of what Baker had mentioned, their son attended observe the identical day Baker was fired and acquired threats of violence and had objects stolen out of his locker, Gaglia and Received mentioned. This assertion was later substantiated by CCSD scholar success coordinator Eliel Rubio, in line with a doc supplied by the mother and father.
In an incident report filed with the police, the household mentioned: “The gamers requested for a gamers solely assembly the place a number of gamers confronted son about why he obtained the coach fired and calling him a snitch.”
Bustamante didn’t substantiate the incident as a result of the household refused to call the gamers concerned, the mother and father mentioned.
“As a result of we stand by our claims that every one these children have been victims of Baker’s manipulation,” Gaglia mentioned. “We wouldn’t title particular children, so since we wouldn’t title them, he wouldn’t substantiate the declare.”
A CCSD doc obtained by the Evaluate-Journal describes an unsubstantiated declare in opposition to Baker during which the complaining occasion doesn’t title the alleged perpetrators.
One other alleged incident
Two days after Baker’s dismissal, the household went to the varsity to talk with the administration, and after they drove by the varsity, they mentioned they noticed Baker, regardless of having been fired, with the gamers on a sidewalk. Gaglia mentioned the gamers and Baker made intimidating hand gestures towards them, and one participant sped previous them in his truck.
Baker denies that occurred. He mentioned he was on the college that morning to get his issues from the baseball subject, however that was the final time he was on college grounds.
“The morning of the twelfth, I got here again on property with a U-Haul to seize my stuff throughout college hours,” Baker mentioned. “… I packed all my stuff and left. I haven’t been again since.”
The household filed a request for a restraining order with Henderson Justice Courtroom after this incident, and Gaglia and Received’s son left the workforce.
“When Scott and the gamers noticed our automobile, they started to bodily posture and throw hand gestures at our automobile supposed to bodily intimidate (the household) from getting into” the varsity, the restraining order request says.
The request for a restraining order was denied, with no motive cited.
On April 30, Primary needed to forfeit all of its league video games and different video games for utilizing an ineligible participant and didn’t advance to the playoffs.
Gaglia and Received declare Baker advised mother and father and gamers on the workforce after he was fired that their household reported ineligible gamers to CCSD. Baker additionally accused their son on a now-deleted episode of a neighborhood baseball podcast that he and his mother and father turned in gamers to make them ineligible.
Nonetheless, the mother and father supplied what they are saying is a press release from CCSD that mentioned the investigation into the Primary baseball workforce relating to the forfeitures got here from an out of doors nameless tip.
CCSD “initiated an investigation into Primary Academy of Worldwide Research’ baseball program following a tip acquired from a supply with no connection to the Primary Academy college neighborhood,” the assertion reads.
Baker maintains that the household was behind the reporting of ineligible gamers.
“That is an apparent type of retaliation for what occurred in 2022 within the playoff sport,” Baker mentioned. “That’s what it’s.”
Alleged historical past of bullying
Within the restraining order request, the household states, “between Could 2022 and April tenth, 2024, there have been a number of documented situations of Scott Baker’s bullying” of the participant.
In 2022, the alleged bullying of the participant began when he didn’t attend a dance recital that gamers had been instructed to take care of assist the varsity dance workforce, Gaglia and Received mentioned. Their son had a chance to satisfy with faculty coaches on the town that conflicted with the occasion, they usually mentioned they tried to speak with Baker to let him know their son couldn’t attend.
Gaglia mentioned this was the one time the baseball workforce was required to attend an after-school occasion not associated to baseball.
“We communicated with Baker that our son had this educational alternative, and Baker advised us that our son couldn’t attend,” Gaglia mentioned. “We stepped in to elucidate that the state of affairs was necessary to our son’s future athletic and educational alternatives. We tried to speak with Baker, however he didn’t talk again with us.”
At Primary’s subsequent sport, the playoff opener, Gaglia and Received’s son was not within the beginning lineup after being a starter all season. Received mentioned his son requested him for recommendation, and he advised him to talk with Baker about it.
“When our son requested Baker why he was being benched, Baker took him into the dugout and started to verbally berate and intimidate him,” Gaglia claims. “Our son referred to as his dad and requested for assist, and his dad may hear Baker screaming at him on the telephone, and he may hear that our son was afraid and alone within the state of affairs.”
Baker denies that occurred and mentioned college police have been referred to as through the verbal altercation with the participant and father.
“His title was not within the lineup, the child noticed it instantly, went down and obtained on the telephone along with his dad,” Baker mentioned. “Gamers noticed it, and he comes again into the dugout and begins type of going off on me.”
Received mentioned he went to the sector to attempt to get his son, and after assembly with Primary directors, Bustamante mentioned the son ought to return into the dugout. The son didn’t play within the subsequent three video games, and Gaglia and Received finally took him away from the workforce on the recommendation of his pediatrician.
Gaglia and Received mentioned Baker advised teammates and different assistant coaches to not converse to their son and that it took a toll on his psychological well being.
Baker denies that occurred.
“All the gamers and coaches have been instructed to utterly ostracize our son, to not converse with him or acknowledge his existence in any respect. … This was a calculated bullying approach Baker used,” Gaglia mentioned. “It took a severe toll on our son’s psychological well being. We tried to work with Bustamante and CCSD … however they did not take any motion in any respect.”
The mother and father mentioned they requested Baker be eliminated for the playoffs whereas the incident was being investigated, however that directors didn’t reply to their makes an attempt at communication till after the playoffs.
The Wolves went on to win the Class 5A state title in 2022.
No issues in 2023
“We did find yourself assembly with Bustamante, Baker and the athletic director after the season was over and the playoffs have been over,” Gaglia mentioned. “At the moment, Scott Baker apologized. He admitted that he was pissed off that with so many high-profile gamers on his workforce now he may not management their schedules and different groups that they play with. He mentioned he sought to make an instance out of (our son).”
The mother and father mentioned all events agreed to convey again the participant for the 2023 season.
Baker mentioned he held a workforce vote on whether or not to have the participant come again to the workforce. Baker mentioned he was in opposition to it, however was advantageous with giving the participant a second likelihood.
“I used to be in opposition to it on the time, however second probabilities, and the directors have been all type of in settlement that if we had this assembly and all the things went good, we are able to have him again,” Baker mentioned. “We had a extremely good assembly. The following 12 months he comes again, didn’t have one situation the entire 12 months, zero, not one altercation. He began for me each sport.”
With two new assistant coaches, Gaglia and Received mentioned the state of affairs was extra manageable, and their son regained his beginning function. They mentioned he leaned on these two assistants whereas claiming he was nonetheless shunned by Baker.
Primary misplaced to Desert Oasis in a 5A Southern Area semifinal with a berth within the state event on the road.
Alleged bullying resumes
As Primary ready for the 2024 season, Gaglia and Received mentioned Baker’s bullying began to accentuate. They are saying it began with Baker attempting to “undermine” a relationship the son had with a former Primary assistant he bonded with on the 2023 workforce.
They declare Baker would speak down in regards to the former assistant, who was offering personal teaching to their son.
Baker denies any of that occurred.
Earlier than a sport early within the 2024 season, the mother and father say Baker was “hostile” towards their son and disrupted his pregame routine. At a sport on March 25, they declare Baker yanked the facility wire to a machine their son was utilizing and yelled to “‘clear this up’ in an aggressive and threatening tone.”
Bustamante substantiated that this incident occurred, in line with a doc supplied by the mother and father. Baker denies the incident.
“I’ve not seen one factor that has my title on it that claims Scott Baker bullied him,” Baker mentioned. “I used to be advised that gamers have been introduced in they usually did all kinds of investigating as soon as I used to be gone about them bullying him.”
Earlier than Primary started the 2024 season, CCSD acquired a tip relating to a number of freshmen who performed on Baker’s membership baseball workforce. In keeping with the Nevada Administrative Code, that are tips and rules Nevada Interscholastic Actions Affiliation member excessive faculties should observe, athletes will not be allowed to play of their eighth-grade 12 months for a coach on a membership that’s affiliated with the highschool they’re going to.
Paperwork obtained from CCSD in a document request element the investigation into ineligible gamers.
Baker was initially suspended, however requested mother and father to go to the varsity and demand that he get his job again, in line with screenshots from a bunch chat with mother and father obtained from CCSD in a information request. Baker claimed on the podcast that Gaglia and Received have been answerable for turning these children in to CCSD, in line with an audio clip supplied by the mother and father. The episode was later deleted.
“We now know Baker was being investigated for recruiting violations and personnel issues,” Gaglia mentioned. “Although we didn’t comprehend it then, Scott Baker had concocted a narrative that our household was behind these investigations.”
“We remained unaware that the Primary administration was conducting their very own investigations into Baker,” Gaglia added. “It’s clear now that the varsity administration knew in regards to the probably connection between their ongoing investigations and Baker’s elevated bullying of our son. Regardless of this information, they failed to guard our son and continued to place him in hurt’s approach.”
Gaglia and Received introduced forth a bullying declare April 4 primarily based on the “clear this up” incident. They mentioned their son was interviewed for that declare April 9, the day earlier than the varsity dismissed Baker. Received mentioned Primary administration advised his son to return to a sport Primary had that day and “act like nothing occurred.”
Baker was fired the subsequent day, and Gaglia and Received’s son was threatened by teammates and had his belongings stolen, they mentioned.
“We’ve by no means sought motion in opposition to the gamers, as we imagine the gamers have been victims of Scott Baker manipulation to retaliate on his behalf with disregard for the implications the children would face if our household didn’t acknowledge they have been being deceived,” Gaglia mentioned.
Kevin McPartlin, an assistant superintendent within the training providers division and scholar athletics and actions in CCSD, later substantiated that there was a tradition of bullying created by Baker in this system, in line with a doc supplied by the mother and father.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Comply with @AlexWright1028 on X.
