A longtime football and wrestling coach in Virginia was assaulted and briefly hospitalized after a run-in with a high school basketball player and his mother on Monday night.
Ken Whitley, 73, has been coaching football and wrestling in Norfolk, Va., and Virginia Beach since 1968.
Karen Whitley, Ken Whitley’s wife, said in an email sent to friends that was obtained by The Virginian-Pilot that he was taken by ambulance to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital with a possible concussion, neck strain, abrasions on face and head, a swollen ear and a broken nose. She added that her husband briefly lost consciousness during the assault, but that a CAT scan revealed no permanent damage.
Norfolk public schools issued a release to the Pilot Wednesday morning confirming the incident occurred and that a juvenile and his mother were charged.
Whitley’s wife released to the Pilot photographs of Whitley taken at Virginia Beach General that showed the abrasions.
Per what witnesses told the Pilot, a juvenile who attends Virginia Beach’s Kempsville High School and a woman believed to be his mother were involved in the assault.
The former Norview (Norfolk, Va.) wrestling coach still drives other school athletic teams to events. He had driven the Norview basketball team to Virginia Beach’s Green Run High on Monday for a summer league game. As he was attempting to park the bus when witnesses said his bus ran into a car and damaged it, per the Pilot.
According to a Facebook post by his wife, Karen Whitley, he found the owner of the car and exchanged information with her.
Whitley was formerly the head football coach at both Norview and Princess Anne (Virginia Beach). He also worked as an assistant coach at Norview and Norfolk’s Lake Taylor. He was also the long-time wrestling coach at Norview.
Khalilah LeGrand, a spokeswomen for the Norfolk public schools, said in a statement to the Pilot that school officials were “very disturbed to learn about the alleged assault on Coach Whitley. Our thoughts are with him and we hope for his quick recovery.
“We trust that both the Virginia Beach Police Department and Virginia Beach Public Schools will work expeditiously to bring resolution and justice in this case. As this incident occurred in another jurisdiction and remains under active investigation, we cannot comment further.”