Editor’s Note: Charges against Steele were dropped in April 2025.
LEXINGTON — A teacher and coach at Lexington High School has been charged with a misdemeanor after allegedly requiring a student to do push-ups on a hot asphalt surface.
Courtney James Steele was charged with one count of endangering children, according to records from the Mansfield Municipal Court. A jury trial has been set for Dec. 18.
Steele plead not guilty to the charge last month.
Steele was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 29 — the same day the Lexington Police Department responded to a call from a man whose 15-year-son sustained injuries during a weight-training class at the high school.
According to the police report, the boy had “redness and several visible blisters” on both palms and near both wrists “consistent with a burn injury.”
“We are aware that we have an employee who is currently facing charges pertaining to an alleged incident in September. We are deeply troubled and saddened by this situation,” said Supt. Jeremy Secrist of Lexington Local Schools.
Secrist said the district notified child protective services and its school resource officer. Secrist also said the district cooperated with the Lexington Police Department to ensure “a thorough and independent investigation.”
“The safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority,” Secrist said. “We want to reassure our school community that we take these situations seriously and are fully committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all students.”
Boy alleges he was forced to do shuffle push ups
According to the initial report, the boy told police when class started, he made a joke to a friend about it being “chest day.”
Steele allegedly heard the comment and replied, “You wanna do chest day, I’ll show you chest day.” The boy then said Steele made him do “shuffle push ups” down the asphalt track and told him if he fell down, he had to start over.
According to the boy’s account, he made it to about the 30 yard line before falling and telling Steele it was too painful to continue. Steele later allowed the boy to complete the exercise on the grass, but the boy said his hands continued to hurt.
Once on the grass, video footage shows the boy dropping to the ground several times and beginning again at the starting line. In total, the incident lasted just over 11 minutes, according to the report.
“(The boy) restarted the exercise each time and stated he felt threatened by Steele and that he did not have a choice to end the exercise due to Steele’s demeanor,” school resource officer Christopher Glennon wrote in a follow-up report.
“(The boy) stated Steele did not offer any medical attention, assistance or first aid even after (he) told him about his hands burning.”
The boy also told police Steele did not let him leave until he reached the 50 yard line and when he showed Steele his hands, the teacher “brushed it off.”
He later told Glennon that after making it to the 50 yard line, Steele made him complete an exercise with battle ropes, but he kept dropping them because his hands hurt. He allegedly stayed after class ended to run his hands under cold water for about 8 minutes.
Student witnesses say teacher ‘did not appear mad’
Glennon also reviewed footage of the incident, which appeared to show the boy complaining about the pain in his hands multiple times after moving to the grass.
Glennon wrote that the footage showed the boy doing plank walks on the track for approximately 52 seconds before stopping and moving to the grass. While on the grass, he started and stopped another six times while doing various amounts of push ups.
Glennon also interviewed six witnesses — all students — for a follow-up report. The report states that the students’ stories were consistent. They confirmed the boy had made a statement about wanting to do chest day instead of running.
“The students stated that the workout did not seem like a punishment and that Mr. Steele did not appear mad,” Glennon wrote in his report. “When asked if anything like this has ever happened before, they stated no.”
When Glennon asked the students if the boy was forced to do the workout, they told him he was given an option to do the plank walks or the conditioning and chose to do the plank walks.
Steele is a fourth year teacher, multi-sport coach, Army veteran
Steele has worked for the district since the fall of 2021, when he was hired as a high school health and physical education teacher.
According to a note in his personnel file, Steele had no teaching experience at the time and 12 years of experience in the military.
Steele studied physical education at Bowling Green and holds a master’s degree in Human Performance: Strength Training and Conditioning from Liberty University.
During his time at Lexington, Steele has coached junior high and high school football and served as a volunteer baseball and wrestling coach.
While in the United States Army, Steele earned four Army commendation medals, including two with combat device with deployed in Iraq. He also earned two Army achievement medals, one operation inherent resolve campaign medal with campaign star and one meritorious unit citation received while deployed in Iraq.