Wednesday, April 18, 2001
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Wednesday, April 18, 2001 |
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Coach complaints heard By JOHN MUNFORD and DAVE HAMRICK
One local youth basketball coach is awaiting a decision on whether he'll be banned from coaching, and another is awaiting a hearing on complaints filed by a local parent. Formal complaints lodged against Jerry Sweeney and Mike Barfield could result in revocation of their certification as members of the National Youth Sports Coaches Association, which would mean they could never coach in an NYSCA sport again. A panel investigating the allegations could also choose to take no action, issue a warning or suspend the coaches. The panel heard the charges against Sweeney last week. A hearing for Barfield will likely take place April 24 or 26 depending on when Barfield is available, said Anita Godbee, director of the local NYSCA chapter. Barfield is also the head basketball coach at Flat Rock Middle School, where he is a math teacher. Sweeney and Barfield coached the same 7- and 8-year-old youth basketball team this year until an altercation both had with a referee after a game in February. The dispute ended with Sweeney being cut by a knife that was allegedly wielded by the referee, who was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault. One written complaint was filed against Sweeney in an incident unrelated to the knifing, accusing him of engaging in a shouting match with a parent during a game in January, said Godbee. At least two written complaints have been filed against Barfield, Godbee confirmed, but she wouldn't specify how many complaints have been received and she wouldn't divulge the nature of those complaints. They all involve "violations of the NYSCA code of conduct," Godbee said. In his hearing Thursday evening, Sweeney claimed that Susan Glore, mother of a player on the opposing team the night of the incident, was mistaken when she said that Sweeney had shouted back and forth with another parent on her son's team before the two went to center court to continue the argument while the game continued around them. The two kept yelling things like "Outside ... I'll see you outside," Glore told the panel. "And then they didn't have the decency to actually go outside," she added. Glore got between the two and broke up the confrontation, she said. Sweeney admitted that he was the one standing toe to toe with the parent, but said he only got involved in the altercation to try and calm the parent down, asking to go outside not so the two could fight, but simply so the children could go on playing the game. He said that Barfield was the one yelling back and forth with the parent from the bench before the parent came running onto the court. "It wasn't a situation where anybody wanted to hurt anybody," he told the panel. "He's a nice fellow," he said of the parent involved. "It just got out of hand." "I was trying to get him to settle down until after the game was over," said Sweeney. Sweeney received support from several parents and grandparents of children on his teams. "I have never seen him in any role other than as peacemaker," said Kelly Haynie, whose 13-year-old son has played on a baseball team coached by Sweeney. Becky Peters said he grandson has played on three different teams that Sweeney coached. "I've found him to be a wonderful coach," she said. "He's so fair with our boys." Chuck Repine said he son also is on a Sweeney-coached team. "He is 100 percent behind the children," said Repine. And Larry Mead, saying he has coached in the league for about five years himself, said he has never seen Sweeney get out of hand. "He's a peacemaker. It's only natural for him to try to step in and fix the situation," he said. Sweeney will be notified by mail within 30 days of the panel's decision. The coaches can appeal the decision to the national NYSCA office if necessary. The last time the local NYSCA chapter conducted an investigation was about seven years ago when it revoked the certification of a coach for punching the father of a referee after a game, Godbee said. Any written complaint given to the local NYSCA must be investigated, she added.
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