An investigation by the school district into a Des Moines football coach concludes he bullied and harassed a former football player, violating several district policies.

Coach Tom Mihalovich admits he’s tough on his players.  In a statement he made back on September 28th, he said, “Yeah.I get on them pretty good those boys.  I’m an old school guy.  And I’m trying to teach all the young men that I have had the privilege of coaching for 35-years, you know those guys, here’s the bar.  That’s were you gotta get to.”

But now the Des Moines School District is calling Coach Mihalovich a bully who harassed a former student.  Mahalovich has been suspended for the past month after former football player Donte Campero claimed the coach made him perform extra conditioning drills when Campero posted an on line comment critical of the team. 

“Look, part of being a high school football coach is tough love. There’s no question about that.” Campero’s attorney, Gary Dickey says, “It’s okay to be aggressive as a coach, to practice tough love.  But this far exceeded anything that could be reasonably expected.”

The report was released by Campero’s attorney, not by the district. In a statement released through his lawyer, Mihalovich is described as “Stunned” by the findings and shocked that the report was released to the media.