An internal investigation has been launched at...

An internal investigation has been launched at Prairie View A & M University in Prairie View, Tex., where striking football players have refused to return to the field until the head coach is fired.

Percy Pierre, Prairie View A&M;’s president, announced the investigation after meeting privately with 55 of the striking football players who have claimed the football coach is blocking their education.

Players, who began their strike last week, also have charged that Coach Haney Catchings has put them through unsafe drills, held frequent six-hour practices and threatened to suspend scholarship funds if athletes did not produce on the field.