There are those who believe that high school athletics get short shrift in a large metropolitan area like Baltimore because no one school or sport, for that matter, holds a compelling grip over the area, as is often the case in a small town.

For those people, we direct attention to a story from Warrensburg, Mo., where sexual misconduct allegations surrounding a school's softball and girls basketball coach have split the town in two, turning teammates and friends against each other.

The coach, Russell Hough, was recently cleared by an internal investigation of complaints by members of the softball and girls basketball teams dating back to 2004. Six current players raised complaints about Hough, but were never questioned by the school system. Nonetheless, the system cleared Hough to return to coaching after he was placed on administrative leave for two months while the investigation took place.

The six players, whose attorney is the wife of the president of a local college, filed suit against Hough and the school system the day after his return, and the resulting controversy has sharply divided the school and the community.