Anthony Bowie, a former Orlando Magic player who had been working as a coach at a Seminole County elementary school, should be fired for inappropriate conduct with a co-worker, the school district has decided.

The Seminole County School Board will be asked to suspend Bowie without pay on April 3 and then terminate him at its April 24 meeting. He has been suspended with pay since early November, after a co-worker at Goldsboro Elementary School in Sanford accused him of exposing himself to her.

A letter sent to Bowie on Friday described the district’s plans.

Bowie, 54, denies the accusations against him, said his attorney Gerald Rutberg. “There will be an appropriate response” to the letter, Rutberg added, but he declined to be more specific.

At Goldsboro, Bowie was a paraprofessional who helped run physical education classes. His salary was $17,644, district officials said.

The teacher said Bowie twice exposed himself to her on Oct. 31, coming into her classroom when no children were present. She filed a report with the Sanford Police Department but declined to press charges.

She told police Bowie said to her, “Do you want to take a picture of it?” and “You know you want this,” according to the report.

The school district investigator concluded that Bowie violated several school rules in his conduct with the teacher. In addition to saying he exposed himself to her, the teacher also told the investigator that Bowie had touched her breasts, made graphic comments about having sex with her and showed her a photo of a penis.

She said she did not address those issues with school administrators when they happened, as she thought Bowie was “put on a pedestal” because he had played for the Magic.

The investigator wrote that other female employees at Goldsboro also felt uncomfortable with some of Bowie’s behavior, saying the 6-foot-6, 225-pound former NBA player hugged them too hard, and they tried to avoid him on campus.

Hired by the school district in 2010, Bowie had no previous discipline issues, district officials said.

He played for the Magic from 1991 to 1996. He ended his NBA career in 1998 with the New York Knicks. Since his retirement, he also coached the boys basketball team for a season at Bishop Moore High School in Orlando and hosted several youth basketball camps.

lpostal@orlandosentinel.com 407-420-5273

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