KTLA

Alhambra High Coaches Fired for Giving Players Supplements

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (KTLA) — The football coaching staff at Alhambra High School was let go Tuesday after administrators discovered coaches were offering players performance enhancing supplements.

Head coach Chuck Leonardis said his staff provided seven players with nutritional supplements, including extremely low dosages of the chemical creatine, The Pasadena Star reported.

“We were very up front and did not recommend it,” Leonardis told the newspaper.

“We had the kids talk to their parents. It’s a legal over-the-counter supplement and we did not break any school rules,” Leonardis said.

But one of the players did not tell his parents and when those parents found out, they approached school officials, the Star reported.

After meeting with the coach, school principal Duane Russell made the decision to fire the entire staff, Leonardis told the newspaper.

According to the National Institutes of Health, creatine is a chemical that is normally found in the body, mostly in muscles.

As a supplement, creatine is most commonly used for improving exercise performance and increasing muscle mass in athletes and older adults.