Flom named new basketball coach at Southwest Christian

Southwest Christian High School (SWCHS) in Chaska has hired David Flom as the new head coach for its varsity boys basketball team.

Flom, who previously coached at Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) for 17 years, stepped down on March 31 following a challenging season that involved his suspension for reading a racial slur to players. The subsequent reinstatement of Flom sparked protests and caused division among players, parents, and community members.

The private Christian school made the announcement this week through a news release, which touted Flom’s “significant success in high school coaching, including numerous statewide and national accolades.” In addition to highlighting Flom’s 70.4% win percentage at EPHS, the release stated that his “character and his reputation for service through sports set him apart as the right leader for our program.”

SWCHS officials addressed Flom’s suspension and subsequent investigation, explaining that Flom had read a racial slur from another individual’s post “while teaching his players a lesson about the damaging impact of racist language and irresponsible use of social media.” The release acknowledged Flom’s public apology and subsequent reinstatement at his former school. However, it also noted that Flom voluntarily resigned at the season’s end.

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The release said that Southwest Christian’s values include “striving to be a school community that appreciates and rejoices in the variety of differences among people, including race, cultural customs, and ethnic backgrounds, while cultivating a spirit of unity and peace in Jesus Christ.”

“We seriously considered this situation over an extensive amount of time and spoke with many people involved doing our own review of what transpired,” the release said. “We believe Coach Flom to be remorseful and committed to learning from the situation. Our team was encouraged by how Flom humbly owned his mistake and is committed to growing from this difficult situation.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to help develop young men through the game of basketball, and also remain committed to listening and learning from others,” Flom said in the release. “I appreciate the generous and forgiving love of Christ I have experienced these past few months.” 

In addition to his coaching duties, Flom, an elementary school teacher in the Eden Prairie School District since 2006, has also accepted the campus scheduler and coordinator role at SWCHS.

“Dave will be teaching at Eden Prairie until the end of the year this year and will be full time with us starting next year,” said SWCHS athletic director Darren Kiezer in an email.

Last week, Alexander “Zander” Culver was announced as the new EPHS boys basketball coach. Culver joins the EPHS team from Roseville High School, where he served as a teacher and held the position of head boys basketball coach for four years.