A selfie of a high school football coach grinning beside a Free Press front-page story about the investigation into his professional conduct has become part of the case.
Doug Kovacs, a resource teacher at Grant Park High School who runs the Pirates football program, was put on leave in the spring.
The Winnipeg School Division employee is the subject of an investigation into allegations that athletes on his AAAA varsity team engaged in hazing that led to at least one player getting injured last year.
The Free Press has learned that on July 8 — the day it was revealed in print that Manitoba’s teacher commissioner had launched a third-party probe — a photo of Kovacs posing with a newspaper began circulating in the football community.
Multiple sources confirmed it is an exhibit in an active investigation that could affect his teaching certificate.
Kovacs is currently in good standing.
The longtime teacher declined an interview when reached by phone Thursday.
“There really isn’t any place for old-school coaching methods in this day and age. We’ve seen the damage that that approach can have on students,” said Cameron Hauseman, an associate professor in the faculty of education at the University of Manitoba.
Hauseman said the Kovacs selfie is “so incredibly concerning” and “sets a terrible example” for students and other coaches given it appears he is making light of serious allegations.
The recent complaint, filed to commissioner Noni Classen, isn’t the first time concerns have been brought forward about Kovacs’ coaching style.
A Pirates student-athlete organized an online petition that called for the teacher to be stripped of his trainer position in 2021-22.
The student was suspended for a week when school leaders determined he was behind the campaign that drew upwards of 100 signatures.
Speaking to the Free Press on the condition of anonymity, he said he was “fed up” about the way the coach treated certain players.
The football player said he doesn’t regret raising allegations that Kovacs was unfit to be in a key mentorship role but rather how he went about it.
At the same time, the now-21-year-old said he was a kid with a big ego and previous complaints he’d made to school staff during his Pirates football career were dismissed.
Kovacs once threatened to remove the athlete’s personal belongings from a locker and throw them outside, he said.
The alum said the coach disregarded his safety concerns about a broken piece of equipment on another occasion and made antisemitic comments.
Coaches should be “caring, firm and able to criticize you without insulting you,” he said, noting he will never forget the day Kovacs told him he wasn’t good enough to play for the U of M Bisons.
(He was ultimately recruited to play for an out-of-province program and competed as a USports athlete during the 2025-26 season.)
The member of Grant Park’s Class of 2022 said team hazing wasn’t an issue during his high school tenure.
“We don’t condone any hazing or any activities that put any children at harm… That’s a no-brainer,” said Jeffrey Bannon, commissioner of the Winnipeg High School Football League.
Winnipeg School Division superintendent Matt Henderson said anyone with concerns about the situation can contact him or the commissioner’s office.
Henderson recently sent a letter to parents of Grant Park students that said the division is awaiting Classen’s findings before internal action is considered and he will share further details “when I am able.”
“I thank you in advance for your patience while the investigation is underway. It is critical that this process is fair, transparent, and (thorough),” he wrote on July 10.
Kristen Fallis, president of the association that represents 3,000 teachers working in Winnipeg, deferred comment to Manitoba Teachers’ Society.
A spokesperson for the public-sector union said it does not comment on active cases.
The majority of complaints brought to the commissioner under the new professional disciplinary system, established in January 2025, have either been dismissed or resolved with consent resolution agreements.
Eight of these agreements — reports outlining a shared statement of facts about an incident and remedial actions — have been finalized over the last 18 months.
