A Simi Valley High School football coach was fired this week after school officials caught wind of a music video he created that depicted acts of buying and selling drugs on the street.
Otis Newell, who has coached youth football for 10 years and served as Simi Valley’s defensive coordinator, was terminated after another coach in the school district discovered his rap video. The video, which Newell says is about a rough upbringing that he left behind, featured drugs being sold out of an ice cream truck.
“My message in the song is that you need to have hustle to actually make it in this world. Nobody’s gonna hand you anything,” Newell told KTLA 5 after losing his job. “Drug and gang violence were an everyday part of my life growing up, so the music that I make tells that story.
“I used football to get me out of my situation. I moved out of (my hometown in California), I got me a scholarship, I have two degrees.”
Newell insists the music video was intended to educate kids about his life in an attempt to keep them off the streets, but the school district deemed it inappropriate. As a result, school officials said he will not be getting his job back.
“Although the music video and song lyrics are not reflective of how you are currently living your life as a husband, father, or coach, the images and activities portrayed in the video are ones we cannot support,” the district wrote in an email to Newell. “Therefore, reinstating you as a football coach with Simi Valley Unified is not possible. We do wish you the best of luck with your personal and professional endeavors moving forward.”
As this high school coach could tell Newell, you never know when things you do away from work are going to affect your job status. Several of Newell’s players expressed support for their coach and credited him for helping them get into colleges.
H/T Football Scoop
