It shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who has lived in Western Pennsylvania that the biggest news story of the past two weeks in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area has been the firing of a popular high school football coach.

The firing of a Pine- Richland head coach and his staff has dominated the headlines and the talk shows.

At first the entire thing looked like some anti-jock administrators and school-board members were making a power grab to take some spotlight off the athletic success at P-R and get rid of the person that felt most responsible for making them look like a football factory. That would be the same people who built a stadium that is the envy of most small colleges to showcase their programs.

The coach went public with his claims of being shocked by the firing, and even issued statements that it was done with no prior warning and was done by email. Now we know from his own video release that he had meetings with the campaign that was investigating the program, and he received a snail mail letter that informed him of the district’s decision to not retain his services.

So, maybe there are not any completely innocent participants in this crazy scenario.

You can’t question the program’s success, and the district has also produced other outstanding programs, including boys and girls basketball.

The district believes the “dirt” they uncovered in their backroom interrogations was sufficient to override the successes of the program. If, in fact, all egos were checked at the door and they really felt this was best for the kids in the school district, then good for them. We don’t know what was in the hearts or heads of the people asking the questions and pressuring teens to give up their coaches.

This coach can get hired today if he wants another coaching position. It would take him a little time to get a new program back to where P-R was two weeks ago, but he would do it. Many people feel P-R was benefitting, whether right or wrong, from college and pro connections getting numerous transfers that used to end up at North Allegheny to enroll at P-R instead. This black eye will most likely end that sweet little benefit. The same funnel could move with the coach to another district such as Mt. Lebanon or Upper St. Clair. (We can only dream that Butler could be on that list.)

But there has been little said about the student athletes in all of this. One parent has accused the district of using their son and his experience, as a new student and player, as the scapegoat for this whole issue. The father vehemently denies his son wanted any part of it. Once again, it’s the parent’s word — not the student’s.

Hostility such as hazing and “rites of passage” are wrong. They should not be tolerated. Neither should closed-door meetings and failure to notify the authorities if a problem exists.

There is not enough money to pay most of us to make it worth being a volunteer, even as an elected school board member. It ranks very high as a thankless position. But those who take on this responsibility need to make it clear to the administrations they are working with that transparency is demanded, not just wanted.

This issue got out of control because the administration feared the popularity of a football coach and his success. They put themselves and their personal comfort in front of what was good for the students. And they hid their findings.

The coach may have truly deserved to be fired regardless of his success if kids were being put in danger or fearing going to practice. But by the administration using the “Animal House” tactic of double-secret probation, they totally destroyed any credibility they may have had.

Most likely this should and probably will lead to a big changeover on the school board, followed by a housecleaning of administrators. Then maybe someone can start thinking about students and education again.

And please wear your mask.

— RV