Associated Press
COLD SPRING, Minn. -- The head girls swimming and diving coach at Rocori High School has been suspended while administrators investigate what happened when several members of the team swam topless at a practice.
Laura Molinari, who remained suspended Friday, described the incident as a "prank" and said she didn't know about it beforehand.
Molinari is in her first season as the Spartans' head coach after serving as an assistant in 2003. She's also a full-time nursing student at St. Cloud State University.
Rocori activities director Lonnie Seifert said Molinari's future with the central Minnesota school district would be decided after the investigation was completed.
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Superintendent Scott Staska said Friday he was hopeful the investigation would wrap up early next week. He said the inquiry was prompted by a complaint from a parent.
Molinari said the incident happened on what she called "Two-piece Tuesday," a once-a-year day when the girls wear two-piece suits to practice.
"The girls decided to play a prank and swim topless," she said. "There's really not much more to it. All I can say is that it was a swimming prank that got out of hand. I had no prior knowledge (the girls would go topless)."
Molinari said the entire team did not participate. She would not say whether she contacted administrators about the incident or if they brought the issue to her.
"It really wasn't that big of an issue," Molinari said. "The situation was dealt with within 15 minutes."
Staska would not elaborate on the details of what happened, who might have seen the girls, and the coach's role, if any.
