Cheer coach is fired for letting male student change in female locker room

An Arizona high school cheerleading coach is defending her decision to let a male student change in the female locker room, after a Yuma-area school district fired her.

Alyssa Plaza, the former cheer coach at Somerton High School, told AZFamily she only let the male student change in the female locker room when it was empty – a step she took because the boy was being severely bullied.

“The bullying escalated and it escalated to the point where there was suicidal ideation and suicidal comments. The board members did not take into consideration the reasoning as to why I did it, this could have saved his life,” she said.

The student who was allowed to change in the locker room, told the outlet he has faced continued harassment at school.

“I’ve filled out at least five different incident reports,” the student said. “They would say how I am gay and that I should kill myself and I don’t need that, for someone to tell me to kill myself, that’s not what I need.”

The Yuma Union High School District voted on Wednesday to fire Plaza.

The cheer coach, a Somerton grad herself, told KYMA that school officials reassigned her six weeks ago and did not ask questions about why she provided accommodations to the student.

“The fact that they did an investigation but never asked me any questions is what kind of hurt me a lot,” Plaza said earlier this week.

The firing means Plaza’s teaching certificate is suspended for the next five years, which she plans to appeal.

School officials have said they cannot comment on personnel matters.

An online petition to reinstate Plaza has nearly 2,000 signatures.

“As a concerned parent of a cheerleader at Somerton High School, I’m deeply disturbed by the recent unjust termination of Coach Alyssa Plaza,” reads a message beneath the petition. “She stood up against bullying and fought for the student’s rights, showcasing the values of courage, compassion, and leadership that should be celebrated and supported in an educational setting.”

The governor of Arizona has been sent a Republican-sponsored bill that would allow schools and other state agencies to bar transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, rejected a bill last year aimed at restricting transgender people’s use of school showers that accord with their gender identity.