Texas cheerleaders burned themselves during punishment from a coach on a hot track at Evans Middle School in Lubbock

A Texas middle school teacher was placed on leave when she allegedly forced her middle school cheerleading squad to crawl around a scorching hot track as a sick form of punishment, resulting in first- and second-degree burns on the teenagers.

According to KAMC, thirteen eighth-graders on the Evans Middle School cheer team said they were punished for doing a cheer at a soccer game that the coach didn’t allow them to do.

The girls claim the coach found it “disrespectful” and told the team at practice on Oct. 9 at 2 p.m.

The unnamed coach ordered the young teens to do a mile of “bear crawling” and “crab walking” on the 125-plus-degree school track, the outlet reported, citing a parent who measured the surface.

The Bear Claw and Crab Walk exercises force a person to crawl on all fours, which are said to improve core strength and mobility.

“I asked [my daughter]’Are you all right? How was school?’ She put our things in the car, sat down and said, “Mom, do you want to know how my happy day was?” I said, “Yes.” She told me that they got a ticket and showed me her hands.” said Angel Thompson, one of the outraged mothers, to KAMC.

In Lubbock, 330 miles west of Dallas, temperatures reached 95 degrees Wednesday.

Some spirit members became ill, while others were unable to complete the prescribed crawling due to the severe pain.

Despite the cheerleaders’ complaints, the unscrupulous coach reportedly jubilantly threatened their future if they didn’t stop the punishment.

“We told her our hands were burning and she said she didn’t care and made us get back on the track,” another cheerleader said.

By the time the middle school students returned home, first- and second-degree burns had already formed on their hands.

Some of the teens were examined by the school nurse and one was taken to the burn unit at Texas Tech University Medical Center.

The parents say the school never informed them of their daughter’s visit to the nurse.

“It was malicious. It was intentional,” said one mother.

The coach, who is a teacher in Lubbock ISD, was placed on leave as police launched an investigation into the painful practice, the outlet reported.

Lubbock ISD was “heartbroken” over the teacher’s “disciplinary approach,” as student safety is their top priority, and punishment was not the case

“We are addressing this matter with the utmost urgency and are committed to investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the school district said. The teacher involved has been placed on leave pending the completion of this investigation.”

“We would like to express our deep concern and regret for the pain and distress this has caused to students and their families. No child should ever suffer harm in a learning environment and we are fully committed to ensuring incidents like this do not happen again.”

In 2022, another public school in Texas came under fire when several students reported burns after their coach gave them exercises as punishment.

The gym teacher reportedly forced four students to do bear crawls as the students tried to get out of their running laps as temperatures rose to 30 degrees.