SANTA MARIA, Calif.- A student's dream cut short after he claims he was bullied. "Beat me up, about to punch me, break my TV, key my car, my window, slash my tires," says Deandre Glover, a victim of bullying.
Deandre Glover says these are the threats he's been getting from his teammates after joining the Alan Hancock basketball team less than a month ago. Glover says it was his dream to play college basketball ever since he was little, but recently that dream turned into a nightmare.
"They took my g-shock, my i-pod, my USB drive, they damaged my computer desk, they broke my closet door," says Glover.
Glover says when he tried to get help from his coach and the school they did nothing to stop the bullying.
"I just felt really hurt, like I've been singled out like, I'm not really that important to you guys," says Glover.
That's when Glover's mother stepped in and tried to reach out to the coach herself.
"He felt like he was in danger, he had to move all of his belongings to his car, so that way they wouldn't get stolen anymore," says Nikisha Dumas, the victim's mother.
Dumas tells Central Coast News she reached out to Coach Ralph Gorton about her son. A text message between Dumas and Gorton reads, "I'm in vacation still! If you're having more trouble and feel compelled to call the police then by all means do..I will not be back until Tuesday afternoon," says Gorton.
Central Coast News reached out to speak with Gorton, but he did not answer. Instead he released the following statement: "The men's basketball program does not condone bullying and any person or persons who are found to participate in the bullying of a teammate will he disciplined accordingly."
"They haven't really approached the people that have been doing this, they said they would but never ever did it at all," says Glover.
"We don't tolerate bullying when we come to learn any circumstances regarding bullying we would want to handle it swiftly. This is the first incident that has been reported since my tenure here," says Kim Ensign, Athletic Director.
Glover tells Central Coast News he quit the basketball team and has no choice but to transfer to a different school.
