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Woodlawn High coach on leave after player alleges coach spit on him, used racial slur
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UPDATE Oct. 13, 2021: Attorneys from both sides were in court Wednesday for a hearing after a judge previously denied a request for a restraining order against coach Weber Mansur.
A hearing was held Wednesday where the injunction was denied.
The attorney representing the student involved said a simple battery citation the coach received is still pending and his next step is to file a civil lawsuit.
Read the original story below:
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BATON ROUGE - Weber Mansur, a Woodlawn High football coach, was placed on administrative leave last week as the East Baton Rouge Parish School System investigates an incident reported by a senior football player.
Jayden Woods claims his coach spit on him during a water break two weeks ago. The following day, he alleges the same coach used a racial slur in the locker room. Woods reported both incidents to his parents, who scheduled a meeting with one of the principals, the athletic director, and Coach Mansur.
During that meeting, the family and their lawyer said Mansur admitted to spitting on Woods, and did not deny using the slur.
Their lawyer, Ryan Thompson, said they are now in the process of filing a restraining order against the coach.
"I wonder if there's anything else in this man's background, if he's done something like this before," Thompson said.
Attorney Kris Perret, who represents Mansur, said the coach was ticketed Wednesday for simple battery. Mansur denied intentionally spitting on the student and said he did not use a slur, though the coach admitted he did question players in the locker room about their use of the word.
Woods claims the spitting incident unfolded at practice two weeks ago.
"We were on a water break, and I was talking to a teammate. I felt water on my arm, legs," Woods said. "When I looked up it was Coach Mansur. We locked eyes and after a while he just took off his shades and looked me dead in my eyes wrapped his arm around me and started talking football."
The following day, Woods said Mansur used a racial slur in the locker room.
"I was in shock the whole time," Woods said.
"It shows intention," Thompson said. "This person knew what he was doing or he had knowledge that the spitting incident was going to occur. Someone doesn't use the n-word by happenstance, by mistake. To spit on someone and a day later use the n-word and the response is 'well you guys use it, so I guess it's ok.'"
Marsha Woods is Jayden's mother. She said she is extremely proud of Jayden for keeping his cool.
"To not even have words with the coach, I'm super proud of him for that," Woods said. "He did what he needed to do, which was to tell us about it. And I'm proud of him for that."
Concerned with the slow pace of the school district's investigation after they said Mansur admitted to spitting on Woods and didn't deny the racial slur, the family contacted the NAACP.
"We believe this coach should be immediately removed from the school and should no longer work with kids," Eugene Collins, president of the NAACP said. "This is a man who spit on a kid and allegedly used a racial term and should not be around kids."
The EBR school system confirmed it is investigating and also confirmed the employee was placed on leave Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office also confirmed it is investigating.
The parents have also filed a temporary restraining order asking that Mansur not come into contact with their son.
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