Bullied Iowa high school girls' basketball coaches quit: Report

Five girls' basketball coaches for an Iowa high school reportedly announced their resignations due to a recent string of unreasonable accusations and criticism from a handful of parents of players.

And they are calling it bullying.

The harassment from some players' parents and other critics of the program have driven the coaches at Independence Junior/Senior High away from their coaching jobs in the northeast Iowa city, reported KWWL.

Assistant coach Rob Ratchford said Monday that he and head varsity coach Rod Conrad had endured too many menacing or irate phone calls.

The coaches said parents bullied them so much they gave their resignations last week.

The basketball coaches said parents have been constantly harassing them about playing time for their kids, but now they say it’s gotten to the point of bullying.

“I received phone calls this week threatening to fight me...wanted me to come over to the house and fight them,” said Ratchford.

Ratchford said he knows that criticism comes with coaching.

"You read things on social media and you try to ignore those kinds of things: People approaching you on game day and phone calls on game day, and phone calls after the game," he told Cedar Rapids television station KCRG.

Ratchford also said he's worried the girls might suffer.

"We're there to teach the kids," he said. "The parents need to step back and realize what the kids are actually gaining out of having a great coach in Independence."

Ratchford said despite all this, he's happy with how the school handled the situation.

School officials told KWWL on Monday that they have not formally accepted Conrad's resignation and can't comment on personnel issues.