Chad Curtis, who played 10 seasons in the majors before retiring in 2001, has been suspended from his volunteer high school position amid allegations that he inappropriately touched students.
Curtis, who denied the allegations, had been volunteering at Lakewood High School near Lake Odessa. He was slated to become the school’s head football coach this fall. He hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Curtis played for six big-league teams as a sometimes starter, sometimes fourth outfielder. He had his best run with the Yankees, hitting .263/.366/.400 with 27 homers in 340 games over three seasons. In 1999, he hit a walkoff homer to win Game 3 of the World Series for the Bombers. He also spent three seasons with the Angels, two with the Rangers and two with the Tigers.
While Curtis ended his career with a modest 101 homers and 461 RBI, he had a higher profile than many similar players, largely because of his willingness to express his Christian viewpoints. He also incited a modest controversy in the 1999 World Series when he refused to be interviewed by NBC’s Jim Gray. Gray had ruffled feathers earlier in the series by picking a poor time to go after Pete Rose about gambling accusations.
