Wow! I'd love that, I love kids and noise. My neighborhood now has very few kids anymore, and the ones we have are middle school or older. I hate quiet.
Eric Kasperowicz out at P-R
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Back to the original subject. P-R officials made a statement that Kasperowicz was not renewed because of an investigation resulting in a series of hazing and bullying incidents.
The funny thing is................no one has come forth to support these claims. In fact, one former player and family has come out specifically saying there were no issues, because the Supt and board focused on him.
Driving around the other day, Mark Madden, blowhard yes, but he's the guy who first broached the Sandusky thing, and also way back when, the Central Catholic hazing issues, remarked that usually by this time, someone would have communicated to him through back channels or DM's or email specific incidents. But nothing. There have been no even anonymous sources backing this up.
Pine Richland can do what it wants, but I think when you go here, now you are bordering on slander. I could care less one way or another, but just find this to be incredibly interesting and possibly just a tremendous abuse of authority and power. So now what? Be interesting if Kasperowicz goes and coaches say North Catholic, or his alma mater or a Hampton, I think he would be in demand.
The funny thing is................no one has come forth to support these claims. In fact, one former player and family has come out specifically saying there were no issues, because the Supt and board focused on him.
Driving around the other day, Mark Madden, blowhard yes, but he's the guy who first broached the Sandusky thing, and also way back when, the Central Catholic hazing issues, remarked that usually by this time, someone would have communicated to him through back channels or DM's or email specific incidents. But nothing. There have been no even anonymous sources backing this up.
Pine Richland can do what it wants, but I think when you go here, now you are bordering on slander. I could care less one way or another, but just find this to be incredibly interesting and possibly just a tremendous abuse of authority and power. So now what? Be interesting if Kasperowicz goes and coaches say North Catholic, or his alma mater or a Hampton, I think he would be in demand.
Bringing this back on topic....thoughts about the Cruz family? I am not sure if they are a scapegoat or saying they are a scapegoat when they are the key to this case!
So like many of us thought and voiced. Abuse of power by weak men. And by them pushing this hazing angel if they cannot find some evidence fast, while I am not a lawyer, it most certainly is slander and libel since they spoke about and wrote there was hazing. But I guess we should all move on the Mighty Souf said we should not care about this.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Just with a quick google search, it looks like the school gave the coach a letter explaining the findings and that there was a recommendation not to renew. They actually kind of dared the coach to share it. Also, a lack of criminality doesn't prove anything either way. Hazing and bullying doesn't always rise to that level. Likewise, the kid in question had his name leaked so apparently that isn't a secret, either. That's a real shame.
BTW, I think the fact he reapplied for the job kind of kills any claims of damage but I could be wrong. I don't know how you claim damage after seeking to get back in bed with the people who allegedly damaged you. Aren't you inviting more problems?
They would have been better off just not renewing his contract to "go in another direction." They were under no obligation to renew. If people are mad, there's elections coming up
I am not understanding your logic. Being slandered(or whatever the legal term may be) by a superior within a company disqualifies one from suing if one wants to continue working for said employer?
It’s very difficult to sue your own employer
Particularly since he wasn’t fired - his employment Contract ended and a new contract wasn’t offered
the Venn diagram of people concerned about this while also being Anti-union/pro-at-will employment- would be a fascinating case study
After saying they weren't going to talk about it, they are now sending out stupid communication written by legal council who has no idea how to deal with communications. They're now coming across as pissy replies that don't really say anything. They are getting crushed by media, the old staff, and people in the district.
Either come out and talk, or say nothing. They actually put out a statement by the police chief that talked about the working relationship with the administration, knowing that nothing they are alleging was ever reported to the police. Just dumb.
The lawsuit is going to come from the Cruz family, and potentially other kids that were interviewed.
What you are missing is this has nothing to do with unions, football, coaching and everything to do with small people making the lives of others — especially kids — difficult. I bet we have all dealt with ‘that guy’ and it sucks. I am just glad at least one of these jerks is getting his due.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
They are no longer his employer. Actually, it sounds like he had a contract with them.
Now that’s interesting. Did P-R not think Kasperowicz would disclose the letter?
I don’t think they cared if he disclosed it. It doesn’t exactly make him look good.
Basically they used a bunch of petty stuff over years as justification to do what they wanted. I particularly like the 5 fights over a period of years.
Mike White article and interview.
Kasperowicz releases Pine-Richland letter, answers school district allegations
Former Pine-Richland football coach Eric Kasperowicz, in an exclusive interview with the Post-Gazette on Thursday, released the letter he received from...
www.post-gazette.com
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It sounds to me like he didn't do anything to stop bullying and hazing in the locker room and insisted that it wasn't his responsibility. To tell the school that be doesn't get paid enough to deal with it reeks of entitlement. He's the head coach of a very successful program. Not hard to curb the behavior.
Complete bullshit. The entire school board needs to resign immediately.
Thats what I told him use half a brain; half of them have been sitting on the market for almost 60 days. His reasoning too of moving there was to play nine holes after a day of work five times a week.
From the outside looking in, it looks like Kasperowicz felt like he could handle and run a successful program his way. The PR administration wanted more oversight. There are no specific examples of bullying or hazing given and what is this 'rites of passage' about. I question it because typically when hazing is involved, specific details of the hazing leaks into the news. The nature of the fights also was not detailed. If you can handle things internally and resolve the situation, the need to bring it to administration for further punishment may not be necessary. Again, it all depends on the situation. He addressed the locker room quote, which was obviously taken out of context because they cut off a portion of what he said. They framed it to paint the picture they wanted rather than what he presented in the meeting.
The letter mentioned he questioned the principal. Probably not the best decision, but he was probably trying to compare his situation to the principal of a building. The recruiting situation was not a good look, but he apparently served his punishment.
I don't get why they brought up the wish list for the boosters program. Completely irrelevant and if the boosters did not want to provide his requests, then they wouldn't. Also, what is the mission, vision, and values they kept mentioning in the letter?
I can see where his ego and program philosophy would rub administrators the wrong way, but without knowing the nature of the serious items outlined in the report, it's impossible to make judgement. From what I read, the focus is more on his personality and program more than the bullying and hazing. What I can take away is Pine Richland will not draw in a football coach who is a program builder. The administration made it very clear they do not want that type of coach and no coach who wants control over building a program will want to work under this administration.
The letter mentioned he questioned the principal. Probably not the best decision, but he was probably trying to compare his situation to the principal of a building. The recruiting situation was not a good look, but he apparently served his punishment.
I don't get why they brought up the wish list for the boosters program. Completely irrelevant and if the boosters did not want to provide his requests, then they wouldn't. Also, what is the mission, vision, and values they kept mentioning in the letter?
I can see where his ego and program philosophy would rub administrators the wrong way, but without knowing the nature of the serious items outlined in the report, it's impossible to make judgement. From what I read, the focus is more on his personality and program more than the bullying and hazing. What I can take away is Pine Richland will not draw in a football coach who is a program builder. The administration made it very clear they do not want that type of coach and no coach who wants control over building a program will want to work under this administration.
They didn't need any of this to get rid of him and not renew his contract. They went back years and listed everything they could find. It's all petty bullshit they were hoping would save them headaches.
As for the hazing or bullying, no player, coach, student or parent is acknowledging any of it. Nobody.
Do you think he didn't know what he was walking into during that meeting? You don't think the players and coaches interviewed before him told what the intent was? I'm sure he went in with a bit of an attitude. At that point, the interview didn't matter anyway.
They knew about the stuff in that letter for years. No different than any other HS football program in the state.
So the new P-R head coach has an additional responsibility. Staff the locker room at all times when there is more than 1 player in there to make sure a towel is not snapped. Maybe the school board can volunteer one of its members to sit in the locker room while the kids are showering. I'm sure no one will think it is weird.
A couple of thoughts -
Will be very interesting to see where Kasper lands. Totten might be close to retiring. What are North Catholic and North Hills coaching situations? Can you imagine if he lands at a private school? I know several schools would absolutely fear seeing Kasper show up as specific schools. Say he landed at Woody High. PCC/Gateway immediately take a step backwards.
There has been an outpouring of support from not just WPIAL coaches but statewide and out of state coaches for Kasper. However, I've noticed a few somewhat prominent smaller school HC's have been very silent on social media in their support of Kasper. Would they take a chance and put their name in Pine Richland sweepstakes. If PR continues their trend of deemphasizing football, I doubt they would be a candidate for the job.
Will be very interesting to see where Kasper lands. Totten might be close to retiring. What are North Catholic and North Hills coaching situations? Can you imagine if he lands at a private school? I know several schools would absolutely fear seeing Kasper show up as specific schools. Say he landed at Woody High. PCC/Gateway immediately take a step backwards.
There has been an outpouring of support from not just WPIAL coaches but statewide and out of state coaches for Kasper. However, I've noticed a few somewhat prominent smaller school HC's have been very silent on social media in their support of Kasper. Would they take a chance and put their name in Pine Richland sweepstakes. If PR continues their trend of deemphasizing football, I doubt they would be a candidate for the job.
The same stuff that happens everywhere. HS kids being idiots. But when there's 5 fist fights in the locker room or right outside in 5 years and some rich boy gets his nose broken, heads are gonna roll.
Listen, Im sure Kasperowicz is a good coach, good guy and all that but I really doubt he was having meetings with his team to stop bullying, hazing, and fighting. Its 2021. You cant do that stuff anymore especially not in a rich district.
People are upset, fine but its such not a big deal. Vote out the board and hire him back if that's what the people want.
I stated in an earlier post that North Catholic would be the perfect spot for Kasper. Mars, NA, SV, and PR are all growing areas and close by. The kids that are angry with PR could transfer to NC. He could build a powerhouse and exact justice on the people who tried to railroad him at the same time.
I can promise you that it would be highly unlikely if he DIDN'T have a team meeting if there were a fight or a hazing situation taking place.
Here's the deal. Eric more than likely spoke his mind and it didn't sit well with the administration. He's a good dude. He's professional. He's one of the most impressive people in the coaching ranks. He's not going to sacrifice everything he's built on extremely minor incidents. When these "incidents" were brought up, he countered with if you're going to hold me accountable for these situations, are you holding the HS principal accountable in the same way? He spoke his mind as an Alpha and it didn't sit well with the Beta's. They felt threatened because he had everything going for him - immense success on and off the field, players excelling in the classroom, major respect with parents and players not to mention other coaches both locally and nationally, and he's beyond competent for the position.
It's not so easy to vote the board all out at once. Only a few are up for election.
Wait a minute. So Kasperowicz got let go because he wanted his players to sign a loyalty commitment letter to not party and go the Aerosmith show in Houston and chastised the star QB for hanging around those types, don't think he hasn't noticed?
I think you incorrectly credited him for rich kids doing well in the classroom.
I don't know the guy but to me, he seems like every other gym/Social Studies teacher/WPIAL coach. I doubt he spent much time addressing these situations. He's that old school tough guy type and honestly, I doubt he even cares much if his players were doing the same things he and his teammates did in HS.
Yeah...I think at this point, it is is best for him to move on. And if I am him, move on to a district that would allow him to stick it up the P-R's boards ass the most (North Catholic, North Hills, even Seneca Valley, NA would be the true one but they already have a solid coach) and go with it. It is a chicken shit list that likely could get any coach "fired" that coached as long as a decade. Contrary to the new world order, you cannot keep kids perfectly happy, nor their parents, there will be arguments, name calling, and even a fight or two. It happens. It happens in a place as disciplined as West Point or Annapolis, it happens at a prestigious place like a Harvard, Yale, Exeter Prep, Choate, the Hill School, it happens in liberal bastions like Middlebury and Oberlin, it just happens because young people of that age are young people of that age. You can fire (sorry not renew) at will. It is personal. So...EK got sacked by it. He's a winner, and do what winner's do, beat them.
But you don't think kids should "shower" together because it can lead to bad things. A lot of things can lead to "bad" things. That's part of life, learning to handle uncomfortable situation, and it is also part of the role of the parent to not run to their children's defense and bitch to the school every time their kid feels uncomfortable. It's called "teachable" moments. It is something that seems increasingly rare for parents today.
The root of the problem is that a large chunk of patents do not allow their children to handle adversity. They intercede and over react (most of the time). The helicopter parents want a perfect world....they might even get it for awhile.
But when problems inevitably arrive, their children have no skills to handle them on their own.
Kasp is right. He isn’t being paid to babysit or parent.
But when problems inevitably arrive, their children have no skills to handle them on their own.
Kasp is right. He isn’t being paid to babysit or parent.
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