TOLEDO, Ohio — The head coach of a reigning City League champions team is on paid leave pending the outcome of a district investigation into a "violation of code of conduct," according to a district official Monday.
Start High School boys basketball head coach Matthew Wortham is under investigation for what Toledo Public Schools spokesperson Patty Mazur described as an alleged violation of board policy and unprofessional conduct.
Wortham, 36, was arrested on a warrant Sunday after the Ohio State Highway Patrol stopped him for speeding on Monroe Street near ProMedica Parkway, an OSHP spokesperson confirmed to WTOL 11. He was booked into the Lucas County Jail on a charge of counterfeiting and was released Monday afternoon.
Wortham has been a coach at Start High School since the 2014-2015 school year and a substitute teacher with TPS since 2021, according to Mazur. The Start Spartans are reigning City League champions, having won three consecutive titles with Wortham as head coach.
It is not clear if he was placed on leave due to his arrest, however, Mazur confirmed to WTOL 11 that Wortham is on paid leave pending the outcome of the district's investigation into a "violation of code of conduct."
Wortham is due back in Sylvania court for a hearing Dec. 18 at 8 a.m.
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