Former Española Valley High School girls basketball coach Joe Estrada claims there were procedures broken related to his firing from the team and the district in 2023.
Estrada emailed the school board with a formal complaint, though has not taken the claim to court.
Estrada and assistant coach Lando Alire were both put on leave on Feb. 3, 2023, and did not return to the team that season. At the end of the school year, Estrada was forced to resign his position as high-school physical education teacher.
Though he had his teaching license renewed, Estrada said he was unable to get a job in schools he applied to before the 2023-24 school year.
“I haven’t been able to get a job, not even as an assistant coach, not even as a substitute teacher,” he said. “Forced me into retirement.”
After a Feb. 2, 2023 loss, a student recorded Estrada in the locker room making “a series of inappropriate comments,” according to a discipline letter, “laced with profanity and threats.” Estrada and Alire were placed on leave the next day.
Estrada said in an interview with the Rio Grande SUN that he never heard from the district after that through the end of the season. That discipline letter was given to Estrada in June 2023.
In June 2023, Estrada signed an agreement with the school district whereby the district agreed to sign the renewal of Estrada’s teachers’ license in exchange for his resignation. This is a strategy in school districts that has become known as “pass the trash,” and has come under criticism for putting students in danger, and has been used for sexual abusers.
The school district and Superintendent Holly Martinez did not respond to an emailed list of questions.
Before that, in May 2023, Estrada received a notice that his contract would be renewed, but that he would be reassigned and not be with the high school or the basketball team. Estrada said a week later he was notified his license would not renewed, but he was never given a reason for that, or for the later change. He said he was denied a hearing from the district.
“There is sufficient evidence that you engaged unprofessional behavior as it relates to your coaching duties,” the discipline letter stated. “However, there is no evidence that this behavior translated into your actions in the classroom.”
On Jan. 22, Estrada emailed the board detailing his complaints with the process and pointing to board policies he believed were violated.
He claims the board violated policies in not protecting Estrada from a March 2022 Facebook post that read, in part, a “vendetta has begun and its time to start making some noise of our own.” Board policy calls for an employee “threatened with harm” to notify a supervisor, and for the supervisor to notify the superintendent to take precautions. Estrada claims that no administrator protected him.
Estrada also wrote to the board that a bag search conducted on the team during his time as coach violated policies, which require a “reasonable suspicion that a crime or other breach of disciplinary rules is occurring or has occurred.”
Estrada also claimed that in December 2022, the district conducted a bag search of the team before a bus trip, violating the school district policies on searches. Estrada said no administrator was present, and he was the only licensed school official present. The school athletic trainer was instructed to conduct the search.
Estrada said he raised concerns about the search afterward to the athletic director, and was accused of insubordination. Estrada said he was never made aware of the purpose for the search, or any suspicions that may have led to it.
Estrada wrote in his email that he thinks his response to the search, reporting it to the athletic director, led to retaliation against him.
Estrada also claimed that administration’s actions on anonymous letters and petitions against him violates board policy.
School board president Javin Coriz responded to Estrada’s letter saying that the board “will not entertain re-opening old investigations” as it would set a precedent. In a follow-up email, Coriz mentioned former boys basketball coach Richard Martinez as another former employee where he would not want to bring up past investigations.
Estrada responded that he was not seeking to reopen an investigation, and that he wanted to report wrongdoing by district employees, and have the issues addressed by the board.
“I would welcome a real investigation,” Estrada told the SUN. “I want people held accountable more than anyone else.”
A Facebook post from a player’s family member made public complaints against Estrada in March 2022. The school and the SUN received two anonymous letters from parents on the team, detailing allegations against Estrada, details of which were previously described in the SUN (June 8, 2023). Neither detailed any specific incidents, but accused Estrada and Alire of “intimidation” and creating a hostile and abusive environment.
“I think it’s all general rumors and general BS is what it is,” Estrada told the SUN.
In January 2019, Estrada filed a restraining order against parents of a varsity player, and accused them of threatening him and players. The order was ultimately dismissed by a Rio Arriba court.
A group of parents also circulated a petition, which they said had hundreds of signatures, calling for Estrada and Alire’s removal, and turned it in to the school board, though the only copy obtained by the SUN was unsigned and undated.
“Coaches were harassing our girls,” said team parent Edward Chavez in a meeting with the SUN. “And not just our girls, all the girls.”
Parents said that they raised concerns to administrators but no action was taken.
In the petition, they wrote that “more than one player has suffered mental issues/depression,” under Estrada and Alire.
Estrada said the only time he had ever heard anything was with one eighth-grade girl who was moved up to the high-school program after the middle school season ended, and he worked with her parents as she was anxious about the change.
Kevin Martinez said that coach Estrada and Alire would use curse words and talk down to the players.
“My daughter would come home crying,” he said. He said that she was told she was not allowed to shoot the ball.
Estrada denied that claim, saying his style as a coach is to encourage everyone to shoot the ball whenever they are open.
Estrada said that no parents had ever met with him detailing any complaints with him as a coach.
The petition claimed that multiple players have quit the basketball program. It claimed that previous parents had complained, but no action was taken.
The parents claimed that Estrada held back a scholarship from a player so it would not be a distraction during the state tournament.
The Facebook post, meanwhile, implied that Estrada had called colleges “telling them how much they shouldn’t WANT to sign a student athlete.”
Estrada acknowledged that for one player he requested that any official signing ceremony take place after the season. But he denied ever doing anything to discourage any colleges from signing his players.
“I can’t even tell you how ridiculous that is,” he said. “Why would I discourage anybody from going to college. Every kid that goes to college is a feather in my cap as a coach.”
The discipline letter accused Estrada of body shaming, and calling girls on the team “fat”, which Estrada denies ever doing.
One anonymous letter mentions that during the 2022-23 season, the team had mostly sophomores on the varsity team, while some players older than them were on junior varsity.
Estrada said the year before, he had called up freshmen to the team, and was impressed with their commitment, work ethic, and chemistry that year and over the summer.
“Those are decisions that are made by head coaches,” Estrada said. He said that he welcomed parents to meet with him.
Also under Estrada’s tenure, four girls from the basketball program all transferred to Mesa Vista during the summer of 2022. Estrada said he did not know their reasons for transferring.
Estrada claimed that through district policy, the school should not act on anonymous complaints. Yet it appears they did so here, addressing the anonymous letters with Estrada, though the SUN was unable to verify that part of board policy.
“This is what it’s like to be a coach in Española,” Estrada said to the SUN.
After the petition was received by the district and relayed to Estrada, in January 2023, he emailed human resources seeking support from the district, but said he never received any support.
Estrada told the SUN that he is not looking to go to court or seek a settlement, though he would not rule it out.
He said he is not fighting to be reinstated, as he no longer wants to work for the Española school district.
“I want the truth to come out,” Estrada said. “I don’t know any other way to clear my name. All I have is my name.”