PLANO -- Two Plano East Senior High baseball coaches subjected their team to racist comments and belittled injured students, according to a school district investigation that also found players participated in an annual "fight club."

Details about the fight club came to light after parents' complaints led to a wide-ranging investigation of head coach Travis Collins and assistant coach Reagan Allen. Both have been on paid administrative leave since August.

According to documents released to The Dallas Morning News this week, students reported the coaches often made demeaning comments about them, especially after players were injured.

"It was as if it was just a game to the coaches to see who could dish out the funniest nickname or phrase to ridicule the hurt player," one student said during the investigation.

The coaches' lawyer said they "vehemently deny" the allegations against them.

"They have dedicated their lives to the game they coach and to developing players through positive example and influence," attorney Giana Ortiz said.

Plano East assistant baseball coach Reagan Allen, right, has been on administrative leave since August. An investigation concluded that he and head coach Travis Collins, among other things, used racist and other derogatory terms around players, didn't follow concussion protocols and ignored player injuries. Freshman baseball coach Aaron Reza, left, was arrested earlier this month after he was accused of having an improper relationship with a student. (David Alvey)

The fight clubs were staged in batting cages while the coaches were away for an annual conference. Collins and Allen said they were unaware of the fighting until parents asked about it.

But the investigation said attention to the fights was so widespread, the coaches should have known about them.

The fight club was promoted on social media, and players returned to classrooms with bruised knuckles and black eyes.

"During the fights, usually organized by the seniors each year, all players are pit against one another in fights with the little protection given by cheap boxing gloves," one student said during the investigation. "There was no backing out of the fight for fear of shame and humiliation by the others."

The allegations against Collins and Allen aren't the only problems the Plano East team has faced recently. Aaron Reza, a freshman coach at McMillen High who also worked as an assistant coach at Plano East, was arrested earlier this month after he was accused of having an improper relationship with a student.

The investigation does not identify who brought concerns about Collins and Allen to the school district's attention, but they referred to themselves as "troubled varsity parents" who thought the coaches had promoted a culture of hazing and hostility.

The coaches' supporters say players who made the allegations were upset about their lack of playing time.

Plano ISD officials declined to comment on the investigation's findings. It's unclear whether disciplinary action was taken against Collins and Allen. The investigation concluded in the fall.

Collins has been with the Plano school district since 2002 and Allen since 2003. Their former players include Jake Arrieta, the National League's 2015 Cy Young Award winner.

Plano East's varsity baseball team missed the playoffs last year, and lost in the first round of the 5A playoffs in 2014.

The district noted in a written statement that the accused coaches are no longer associated with the baseball program. An interim head coach, Joe Cravens, has been named.

"Training in regard to coach/athlete respect and sensitivity is embedded in topics and sessions that occur annually," the statement said. "Additional reinforcement related to teacher/student interactions will be covered during the August in-service training."

Parents first raised concerns with the coaches last spring. In May and June, some parents contacted district officials about rumors of the fight club and accusations of racist and other derogatory comments. They also alleged Collins and Allen were indifferent about students' health and safety.

After reviewing allegations from the last few years, the investigation sustained some claims but described others as unfounded.

The investigation determined that:

Collins and Allen used racist and other derogatory terms around players. Students said the coaches used slurs and called a student with an injured back "Brokeback Mountain," referring to the movie about two men in a gay relationship. Collins denied that any member of the coaching staff had ever used terms referring to students' ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Collins did not follow concussion protocols after a player was hurt during a game. He allowed the student to return to practice and play without medical documentation clearing the teen to do so. Collins said the protocols weren't followed because a trainer indicated the student didn't appear to have suffered a concussion.

Collins ignored injured players and at times belittled them and called them selfish because they could not contribute to the team. Students said they felt pressured to play while hurt. But the investigation cleared the coaches of allegations that they routinely questioned injuries and pressured students to participate when they were hurt.

Collins set a pitching machine to "rapid fire" to intimidate less-talented players during tryouts. Students said that led to some students getting hit by balls at high speeds. Collins said the pitching machine was used to evaluate players' skills, not to intimidate them.

The investigation did not support accusations that Collins and Allen violated UIL rules by allowing students with failing grades to play, and that they didn't provide enough water for the team.

The coaches' supporters say the investigation relied on half-truths that were taken out of context.

Plano East senior Devin Gifford said that Collins and Allen cared about their players and that he never heard them make demeaning remarks.

"They criticized us when we made mistakes and praised us when we did well," said Gifford, who has been on the team since he was a freshman. "They never pushed to make injured players play. I hurt my arm once and told coach [Collins] that it still hurt. He just told me to play when I felt ready."

Gifford said that he wasn't around the team during the fight club but that other players told him it was a secret event that only students knew about.

Dan Rudkin, whose two sons played for Collins and Allen for seven years, said he never heard any complaints.

"I've never seen anything that concerned me in all my years with the team," he said. "I never heard of a fight club, and I feel that if the coaches had -- knowing them the way I do -- they definitely would have done something about that."

Another parent, Dave Anderson, said the coaches' accusers made multiple allegations just to see what would stick.

"It's sad that this investigation was cleverly disguised as being about player safety concerns from those not happy with their position in the ... baseball program," Anderson said. "I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of support from the district for these two longtime coaches and the one-sidedness of this investigation."

Staff writer Matt Wixon contributed to this report.

On Twitter: @EvaMarieAyala