ST. PAUL, Minn. — The St. Paul school district is investigating whether a freshman baseball coach lost his job because of his race.

Michael Grover claims Johnson Senior High set out to replace him with a coach of Asian descent in a bid to recruit more Asian-American students, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. Grover, who is white, posted a biting note on his Facebook page after he and his assistant coach lost their jobs last week, which spurred calls to the school and an investigation by the district’s human resources department.

In a statement, the district said it does not hire or fire based on a person’s racial or ethnic background.

“The district has a very clear policy on this, and we adhere to it,” the district said.

Grover acknowledged his team lost almost all their games last spring after two strong seasons. But he claims that athletics director Jeff Plaschko brought up the race issue.

Plaschko, a two-decade Johnson veteran, is on paid leave just as the spring season gets under way. Plaschko said he was advised by the district not to comment during the investigation.

Almost half of the students are of Asian descent at Johnson. The freshman baseball team featured no Asian players last season.