Maurice Harden

(1-31-24) Xenia High School football coach Maurice Harden is part of a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio that accuses Harden of pushing a student who has cerebral palsy out of his chair and standing over the student screaming.

Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit were the GCCC board of education and Superintendent David Deskins

Harden teaches exercise science at the Greene County Career Center (GCCC).

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The GCCC Board has issued the following statement –

Mr. Harden was disciplined appropriately by our Board of Education, including suspension, mandatory training, and an agreement that any future misconduct would result in immediate termination. Following these decisions, Mr. Harden returned to the school for a brief period, until the court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting him from being on school property. He is now again assigned to home.”

It is important to know that the allegations contained in a federal lawsuit are not consistent with the findings of our internal investigation.

We recognize this is an emotional situation for everyone involved. As this matter is pending in federal court, we must allow the legal process to guide us going forward, and we ask for patience and understanding from our community.

According to Harden’s personnel file-

  • suspended for three days
  • required to review policies on staff ethics
  • student supervision and welfare
  • the licensure code of conduct for Ohio educators
  • complete a training module on classroom management

The student’s parents, Joy and Jacob Brown asked for a permanent injunction barring the GCCC from allowing Harden to return to the classroom and also for an undetermined judgement against all the defendants in an amount to be proven in a jury trial.

A temporary restraining order was granted, so Harden has been banned from the career center since the 18th and will be allowed back starting Thursday, Feb. 1.

Lawsuit Document — 

No statement on Harden’s situation from Xenia Schools on his status as head football coach. SSN has contacted Xenia Schools for a statement.

In a Xenia Gazette story in October of 2022 –

Greene County Career Center School Board President Gene Taylor

“Harden, or ‘Coach’ is an outstanding role model for students both in the classroom and on the field, and we like to see our staff members demonstrating service to our communities.”

In 2022 Harden was named one of the OHSAA Division II football coaches of the year.