DUBLIN, Ga. — Editors note: the video attached to this story is from previous coverage.
An East Laurens school official accused of slapping a student-athlete back on Aug. 29 has resigned, Laurens County School District Superintendent Clifford Garnto confirms.
Larry Fleming — also known as Chip — was accused of standing on a 17-year-old student's feet to keep the student from moving and then slapping him in the face during a junior varsity football game, the incident report claims.
Fleming was East Laurens's athletic coordinator, according to the school's website.
During their Thursday night board meeting, Garnto says that the Laurens County Board of Education approved his resignation.
Fleming is charged with simple battery. He was booked into the Laurens County Jail on Sept. 3 and released the same day.
In an interview, Norrion King, the student involved in the case, said that Fleming came to comment on how the team should play.
"I was a little confused,” he said. “Because once he used to be my old coach and that he's a school administrator and somebody that I knew I could joke around like that. But obviously not now because a whole different situation going on."
When Fleming offered some comments, that's when King said he made a joke about Fleming "telling his best friend," one of the team's coaches.
"He didn't say anything the first time, so I thought we were playing," King said. "He took offense to it, kept saying I was being disrespectful, walked in front of me, stepped on my foot and slapped me."
The incident report says witnesses confirmed King's account of what happened.
Garnto says that Fleming hasn't worked with students since the situation happened. Fleming worked with the school district for seven years.
We reached out to Fleming for comment but we haven't heard back.