Assistant Coach Fired After Impersonating Player, 13

'I was just shocked,' says the girl's father in Portsmouth, Virginia
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2023 4:06 PM CST

An assistant coach for a JV girls' basketball team in Virginia is now a former assistant coach after displaying some seriously odd judgment. Arlisha Boykins, 22, pretended to be a 13-year-old and played in a game for Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, reports WAVY 10. (See video here.) School officials got wind of the stunt, investigated, and say that Boykins is no longer employed by the district. Nor is the JV team's head coach or the varsity head coach, both of whom reportedly knew about the ruse, per WAVY 10.

"Coaches always preach to the kids about integrity and those types of things, so I was just shocked," says the father of the girl whose spot on the team Boykins filled. His daughter, the real 13-year-old, was out of town at a club tournament. The lack of coaches for the JV and varsity teams won't matter much: The girls on both teams opted to abandon their seasons after the deception, reports USA Today. (More impersonation stories.)

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