(Editor’s note: The document below describes allegations against Nathan Holland that some readers may find disturbing.)
The Oklahoma State Board of Education suspended the teaching certificate of Nathan Holland today nearly two months after the girls high school basketball coach was charged with raping a woman he met on Bumble.
The board went into special session to review a Department of Education administrative complaint (embedded below) that describes photos and videos found on Holland’s phone. Law enforcement investigators allege the images were taken in classrooms and school locker rooms.
“I definitely stand behind the [board’s decision],” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said afterward. “We took action we believe is the right action to provide the greatest safety for our students, which is why we have this opportunity to suspend (his teaching certificate).”
Calvin Public Schools had reportedly placed Holland on leave earlier in 2020 after he was charged in Pottawatomie County with two counts of rape in the first degree, two counts of forcible sodomy and one count of domestic assault and battery by strangulation on Feb. 27.
On Jan. 4, a woman Holland met on the dating app Bumble told Shawnee police that she had agreed to meet him at an IHOP but he asked her to come to his room at a Holiday Inn Express instead. Once there, the woman said he immediately grabbed her by the throat and initiated “unwanted” sexual intercourse, according to an affidavit cited in the State Department of Education’s emergency order application seeking the suspension of Holland’s teaching certificate.
The OSDE administrative complaint details what investigators say they found on Holland’s phone. The following statements are quoted directly from the affidavit, which says investigators found:
- Numerous videos of Nathan spitting, slapping and choking women;
- Numerous nude photographs of Nathan to include what appears to be him in the school locker room;
- Videos of himself sitting at a desk in a school classroom with an erection
- In another photo, Nathan is posing with the girls’ basketball team while he has his hand around a player’s neck;
- Nathan also has a photo that shows a female student with scissors pressed against her neck assumedly held by Nathan;
- There are multiple videos and pictures of school aged girls on Nathan’s phone, some in the locker room and others appear to be at school, inside a residence or in a vehicle.
News 9 has previously published video of Holland’s interview with law enforcement.
“I absolutely would not care if you vetted every kid that I have ever came into contact with, or kids’ parents,” Holland said in the video. “I absolutely — I really don’t mix those two worlds. That picture, I was by myself.”
The OSDE document says investigators also found text messages about Holland purchasing anabolic steroids.
“After locating the nude photo of Nathan in what appears to be the school locker room, text messages that show Nathan making a deal to buy anabolic steroids, and the photo of Nathan with his hand around a Calvin school girls (sic) neck, the superintendent of Calvin Public Schools was notified of our rape investigation,” the document states.
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Reached by phone and asked about Holland’s employment status with the district, Calvin Public Schools principal Jerad Winningham said superintendent Travis Graham would be the appropriate person to speak about the situation. Winningham said he would ask Graham to contact NonDoc, but no phone call was received prior to the publication of this story.
Holland is represented by McAlester attorney Warren Gotcher, who said Thursday he was unaware of the State Board of Education’s action.
“All I can say is no comment,” Gotcher said.
According to the document below, the State Board of Education will set a hearing to determine whether Holland’s teaching certificate should be revoked, an action the Department of Education recommended.
Holland has been certified to teach physical education, health and safety for grades kindergarten through 12th as well as U.S. history, Oklahoma history, government and economics for grades 5th through 12th.
Administrative complaint against Nathan Holland
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