OVIEDO, Fla. — The former Oviedo High School football coach blamed for failing to prevent players from inappropriately touching each other in the locker room was punished with a three-day, unpaid suspension.
- Matt Dixon lost football coaching job
- He is a physical education teacher now
- Review panel alerted of Dixon's punishment
Matt Dixon was removed as the school’s football coach in November but remains on staff at the school as a physical education teacher.
Dixon's punishment will also be reviewed by the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practice Services, which investigates disciplinary actions taken against teachers. It has the authority to impose additional actions under standards of conduct for certified educators in Florida.
In October, Oviedo police confirmed it had forwarded the results of its investigation to the Seminole-Brevard State Attorney’s Office to determine what, if any, charges should be filed.
The status of that decision was not available Saturday.
Also in October, the district confirmed unspecified disciplinary actions against three students.
At the time, at least two Oviedo High School football players complained they were inappropriately touched on their buttocks while clothed. It was described as locker room “horseplay” and possible hazing. It was also known as “code reds.”
Similar problems occurred during the previous school year.
Dixon was counseled about his lack of supervision during the 2018-2019 school year and lectured all players this fall they would face consequences for inappropriately touching each other.
But Dixon “failed to put effective measures in place to ensure that these students would not be subjected to this type of inappropriate treatment which led to additional complaints by students and parents in November 2019,” Seminole County Schools Superintendent Walt Griffin said in a letter to Dixon. It was released to reporters Saturday.
“A careful review of the investigation into these allegations revealed that as Oviedo High School Head Football Coach you failed to properly address this situation with the students under your supervision,” Griffin said in the December 18 letter.
The letter became public 10 days after Dixon signed it.
Griffin said Dixon’s unpaid days would be January 14, 21 and 22.