A sophomore at Little Chute High School in Wisconsin shared a tough story about his experience with the school’s wrestling coach and how it led him to quit a sport he’s loved since he was four years old.
In a heartfelt video, a sophomore at Little Chute HS, Gavin, explained how he felt mistreated, intimidated, and unfairly accused, which pushed him to take a lie detector test to clear his name.
He wore a shirt with censored quotes from Kuharski to protest in the video, believing it was his First Amendment right to speak out. He also added that the shirt didn’t break any school rules.
Gavin, a wrestler for years, said he can’t wrestle this year because of an incident with Coach Kuharski on January 30, 2025.
It started when two other wrestlers physically hurt him and said inappropriate things. The next day, after a meeting with his parents and the principal, Tony Byrd, Coach Kuharski took Gavin into a closed room alone.
Gavin felt scared and pressured during this meeting. He said the coach asked him personal questions about his anxiety and ADHD medication, which Gavin thought was wrong for a coach to do.
On top of that, Kuharski also made comments that made Gavin uncomfortable, like saying he was a detective who could tell when people lie.
He even compared Gavin to criminals he’d dealt with, and even mentioned a disturbing story about a man who hurt his own daughter.
Gavin felt these remarks were meant to push him into admitting something he didn’t do.
He didn’t stop there. In front of Gavin’s parents and the principal, Kuharski said things like, “I could’ve thrown you under the bus,” and called Gavin “purple pants” while mocking him.
Gavin said the coach admitted to saying these things, but claimed he was just trying to get Gavin to “tell the truth” about an accusation from the two wrestlers who hurt him.
In the confession video, Gavin said that he felt like the coach was using his authority to bully him into saying what he wanted to hear, not what was true.
Gavin Faced False Racist Accusations from Wrestlers Who Harmed Him!
Later, Gavin and his family filed a complaint against Kuharski, according to the video.
The school hired a lawyer to investigate, who found that some of the coach’s comments were inappropriate but didn’t prove he meant to harm Gavin.
The school decided to keep Kuharski as a wrestling coach and substitute teacher, saying he’d get extra training on how to talk to students properly.
Gavin and his family didn’t think this was enough. They were upset that, even months later, the school hadn’t started the training or talked to Kuharski about his behavior.
To them, this showed the school didn’t care about Gavin’s safety or other students’ well-being.
To make the situation worse, the two wrestlers who hurt Gavin accused him of saying racist remarks months after the incident.
Gavin said there were no witnesses to back up their claims, and their stories kept changing.
Above all, to prove he was innocent, Gavin begged his mom to let him take a lie detector test. He passed, showing no deception when asked about the alleged remarks.
His family even offered to pay for the other two students to take the same test, not to call them liars, but to give them a chance to prove their side.
The school’s report, though, labeled Gavin as the bully based on these accusations, which he felt was unfair.
Gavin said wrestling was his way to relieve stress, but Kuharski told him he could only return to the team if he admitted to something Gavin says he didn’t do.
According to Gavin, he felt like the coach was using wrestling to pressure him, which he called “coercion.” He said:
I was told by the coach, in front of my parents and the principal, that I can come back in his wrestling room once I want to tell the truth. Withholding wrestling until I told him the truth? He doesn’t know the truth and said that I could come back once I tell him what he wanted to hear.
Gavin
Even though Kuharski later said Gavin could come back anytime, Gavin felt the damage was done.
He told the school administrators, Heidi Schmidt and Kelly Wallace, that he felt unsafe around Kuharski. However, they gave ideas like letting assistant coaches help or trying to feel okay around Kuharski again, but those didn’t work.
Gavin didn’t want to try a new sport; he just wanted to wrestle without feeling scared.
Later, Gavin took to Facebook to share a quick update on Kuharski’s resignation.
The school promised to improve policies because of his case, but Gavin questioned how things could change if staff like Kuharski faced no real consequences.
Gavin ended his video by encouraging other students who’ve been mistreated to speak up, even though it’s hard.
He said he almost stayed silent, but thought about other kids who might face the same thing if he didn’t act.
