A Pennsylvania girls basketball coach has been charged with the disturbing count of making terroristic threats -- along with charges of simple assault and possession of a weapon on school property -- just hours before he was scheduled to lead his team on the court.
As first reported by the Patriot-News, Central Dauphin (Pa.) East High girls basketball coach Rashaud Macon was charged with four counts on Saturday night, including the ominous making terroristic threats, all in connection with a dispute he had with a former girlfriend.
The investigation into the coach's activities began when his ex, who is also an employee of the Central Dauphin School District, reached out to authorities to indicate Macon had sent her a violent text message. According to Harrisburg ABC affiliate WHTM, Macon was then found to have a legally obtained firearm in his car, though his license to carry it had expired. His vehicle was parked on school property at the time, adding the possession of a weapon on school property charge and carrying a concealed weapon without a license to his growing list of maladies. The other charge against him is one of simple assault.
While no students are involved in the charges facing Macon, that hardly helped his Panthers team cope with the sudden absence of their first-year head coach. Macon was placed on administrative leave without any prior notice on Friday, just before CD East was scheduled to face off against crosstown rival Central Dauphin (Pa.) High.
Despite all the turmoil surrounding the program, the distractions couldn't keep the Panthers from performing on the court, even without their coach. Under the watch of fill-in coach Charlie Harvey, who had previously served as the team's assistant, CD East defeated Central Dauphin 53-41, earning a high-profile victory to offset some of the negative publicity surrounding Macon. It was later announced that Harvey will lead the team for the remainder of the 2011-12 season, beginning with a Tuesday night game against Chambersburg (Pa.) High.
"[The CD East players] were in the dark about everything, as most people were," Harvey told the Patriot-News. "They wanted to move on. We had discussed things earlier in the day and, at that point in time, in the locker room before the game.
"They wanted to go out and show people what they were made of and, basically, that's what they did. It was very emotional after the game. It was a big game for them and it meant a lot to them to do that they did."
Meanwhile, Macon has been released from jail after posting $25,000 bail, though the 1997 CD East graduate and former Waynesburg College basketball player will not be allowed on the CD East campus while on administrative leave until at least the conclusion of his trial.
Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.