A 22-year-old assistant basketball coach lost her job with a Virginia high school after she reportedly impersonated a 13-year-old girl during an official game.

Arlisha Boykins, an assistant for the Churchland H.S. Truckers in Virginia, recently made international news headlines after it was reported that she impersonated a 13-year-old player who was out of time for another tournament in a league game. Footage that went viral last week shows 22-year-old Boykins driving the lane for a layup, blocking the other team’s players, and shooting free throws against Nansemond River in a Virginia High School League (VHSL) game. Both Boykins and the head coach, who allegedly “encouraged such behavior” have been fired.

Photo: Gene Gallin/Unsplash

TMZ reported the bizarre news on January 31st, five days after Arlisha Boykins had impersonated her 13-year-old student for the VHSL game against Nansemond River in Suffolk. Churchland High School officials soon confirmed that the 22-year-old assistant coach had indeed played in that game against girls at least 7 years her juniors, but clarified that no school officials had been present at this particular away game.

The Virginia High School League has confirmed that it is aware of the situation, adding that it letting the school deal with the punitive measures. Churchland officials have already announced that they have fired both Boykins and the head coach.

 

According to sources close to the Churchland Truckers girls’ junior varsity basketball team, the 22-year-old assistant coach decided to impersonate one of her players because the alternative was playing with one less player, which would have surely lost them the game.

“Coaches always preach to the kids about integrity and those types of things, so I was just shocked,” the father of a 13-year-old Churchland basketball player told reporters.

 

Following this controversial incident, Churchland High School held a meeting with the parents and students of the junior varsity and varsity teams and decided to drop out of this season of the state basketball league.