Garland coach uses Trump's "locker room talk" as teachable moment

With Donald Trump defending his sexually suggestive comments about women as “locker room talk,” a local high school football coach is using politics to teach players about respect, consent and sexual assault.

Coach Josh Ragsdale says when the presidential candidate specifically referenced the locker room, he felt like he had to address it.

South Garland football players are learning lessons about the game and life.  Ragsdale found himself with one of those life lessons to teach his players from a video in which the Republican presidential candidate is heard bragging about how his fame allowed him to grope women without permission and saying it was just locker room talk.

"That's wrong. That's not our locker room. That will never be our locker room,” Ragsdale said. “I find it hard to believe anybody's ever gonna say that that does take place in a locker room. And if it is, shame on them."

And while Trump was talking about his image as a high-roller when he made the comments, Coach Ragsdale said his players are high profile in the hallways.

"We do talk about girls, but we don't like to disrespect them in that way cause disrespect is not allowed at all with coach Rags,” said football player T.J. Williams.

Ragsdale made headlines last year when he coached at Dallas's Adamson High School and encouraged his players to sign a pledge against domestic violence. It’s the same pledge he now offers young men here at South Garland High School.

"If we're in the classroom setting and then there's people that are in there that aren't athletes and they're saying stuff like that, most of the athletes like me and TJ will say the same thing – we'll tell them to stop,” the coach said.

In the same debate, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton apologized for comments she made and another about her emails.

Ragsdale says no matter the arena, real life examples offer some of the best lessons to his players.

"What we're doing right now with our project needs to be taught to second and third graders,” he said. “It needs to start way younger than high school."