Former Murrah (Miss.) High boys basketball coach Marlon Dorsey is getting another chance. Dorsey, who was forced to resign from his previous position after video surfaced of him whipping his players with a weightlifting belt as a form of punishment, will take a position with South Panola schools in Batesville, Miss., this fall.
As first reported by the Clarion-Ledger, South Panola will employ Dorsey as teacher and will allow him to "assist with athletic programs at all levels." What the new job description won't entail is the opportunity to be a head coach, according to South Panola Schools Superintendent Keith Shaffer.
The job will, however, give Dorsey a second chance, something that didn't appear likely when he came under fire in 2010 at Murrah High and was forced to walk away, his image seemingly tarnished forever.
"I think the gentleman learned a lesson and I think he deserves an opportunity," Shaffer told the Clarion-Ledger.
Dorsey will be going to a school district where, unlike Jackson Public Schools, his previous employer, corporal punishment is still legal. The Clarion-Ledger noted that even though it's allowed in South Panola schools, "it is meted by administrators, not teachers."
That wasn't the case at Murrah, where corporal punishment had been prohibited since 1991. Three of his former players filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the district for Dorsey's actions in 2010; the case is still ongoing.
"I took it upon myself to save these young men from the destruction of self and what society has accepted and become silent to the issues our students are facing on a daily basis," Dorsey said in a statement to the Clarion-Ledger back in November. "I am deeply remorseful of my actions to help our students."
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