Sasha Yates was previously under investigation for engaging in inappropriate discussions with female students.
A transgender Gettysburg Area High School coach who was previously under investigation for inappropriate behavior towards student athletes has resigned after the discovery of pornographic videos involving the teacher.
David Yates, who identifies as a woman and uses the name “Sasha”, resigned from a part time coaching position after school board member Michelle Smyers received a video of Yates smoking meth and asking viewers “am I a good meth whore?” A second video showed Yates engaging in sex with another man. According to Reduxx, a concerned parent sent the videos to Smyers, who “immediately contacted the school district’s Police Chief.”
The following day, Yates contacted Smyers via text message to “assure her that he would tender his resignation”, which Smyers believes was an effort to keep the incident out of the public eye.
Before the revelations of pornographic videos involving illegal drug use, local media reported that Yates was resigning “for ongoing health reasons.”
Yates had previously been under scrutiny in 2022 when, after transitioning to identify as a woman, the coach allegedly used the girls’ locker room at the same time as the girls’ soccer team and attempted conversation regarding the students’ underwear preferences. The incident was brought to the school board after one of the girls complained to her parents, one of whom was the school board president.
Following the incident, and an investigation some have criticized since investigators failed to interview the girls Yates allegedly asked intrusive and inappropriate questions to, the school board originally held a deadlocked vote on whether to renew Yates’ contract as a part-time coach. After public pressure and the Gettysburg High School’s administrators refusing to provide the school board with Yates’ personnel file, the board voted 6-2 to renew the coach’s contract. Several accused Smyers, who made a motion to remove Yates’ renewal from consideration,
Responding to the 2022 incident, Yates claims to have no recollection of asking the girls about their underwear, which a memo in Yates’ personnel file disputes. During school board meetings, several parents spoke out against rehiring Yates, with parent Steve Carbaugh, whose daughter was among those Yates attempted to discuss underwear preferences with, raising the alarm that “[the school] can’t protect my child while in their custody.”
Smyers told Reduxx that she believes district officials will not acknowledge the circumstances surrounding Yates’ resignation and that the district “will never apologize for keeping Yates employed.”
