Somerton student who says he was bullied talks about fired coach

Alejandro Perez says his cheer coach should have never been fired for trying to protect him from verbal abuse while at school

(Editor's note: Upon further investigation, we learned that Alyssa Plaza's teaching certification is still listed as active on the Arizona Department of Education website. It will be up to the ADE to decide if her certification is suspended or removed).

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Alejandro Perez, the Somerton High School student who claims he was a victim of bullying, is speaking out about his cheerleading coach Alyssa Plaza's termination.

Perez, who says he's dealt with bullying since elementary school, doesn't believe Plaza should have been let go from her position.

"She doesn’t deserve that she was only trying to help me," Perez said.

The sophomore claims after dealing with constant verbal abuse in the boys locker room, he was left with no choice but to voice his concern to Plaza, who says she allowed him to change in the girls locker room, as long as no other students were present.

"I would always tell (or) text my coach, tell her if like anyone’s in there like just to be in the clear that no one is changing," Perez said.

Plaza spoke to KYMA about her termination, saying she still feels her actions were justified.

“What I did was for the safety of the child, and when I got dismissed the Arizona State Board statute said that what I did was put children at risk,” Plaza said.

Regardless, it's a position Perez says his now former coach shouldn't be dealing with.

“I just feel really upset because she was just trying to help me,” Perez said.

Another point of frustration with Perez has been Yuma Union High School District's handling of the situation.

Specifically, Perez says he was frustrated after the school board's meeting where Plaza's termination was unanimously approved.

"(The district) weren’t imagining themselves of what position I was in, the only thing that my coach was trying to do was to help me," Perez said.

Upon further investigation, we learned that Alyssa Plaza's teaching certification is still listed as active on the Arizona Department ofEducation website. It will be up to the ADE to decide if her certification is suspended or removed.

KYMA has reached out to YUHSD for comment, with the district saying they are not allowed to comment on the matter.