Greg Spridik is the most successful high school girls volleyball coach in Washington County history.
Besides producing a string of victories and All-State players, Spridik is the only coach from the area to take his team to the PIAA playoffs on multiple occasions.
Success wasn't enough for Spridik to return to the Bearcats in 2012.
He was fired last Friday during a meeting with administrations. It was an action that members of the Bentworth School District Board of Education did not know.
The reason? According to Spridik, he was told he was in violation of Act 24 of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Spridik was arrested in a foreign country 31 years ago. Until Act 24 was established, he previously passed all clearances needed to coach high school athletics and officiate PIAA basketball games.
Spridik believes the real reason behind his removal stems from his public displeasure over a motion at Bentworth to remove middle school athletics.
It's one interesting story, and one that will likely take a few turns before reaching a conclusion.
Read more about it in Thursday's Observer-Reporter.
4 comments:
Please dig deeper on this Mike. I, as many others would like to hear the "real" reason that a successful coach would lose his coaching position.
Spridik believes the reason was because he spoke out against the elimination of sports at the middle school level.
There's a good chance this story adds a few more layers as Spridik plans litigation.
if the school board doesn't know about it, coach wasn't fired. school boards do that, sometimes with, and occassionally against, recommendations from administrators--superintendants, principals, athletic directors. when the board meets they'll decide whether coach returns or not.
why was coach arrested 31 years ago? if it's one of the 25 offenses listed in Act 24, he can't be a school employee or contractor. if it's a violation of the Controlled Substance, Device and Cosmetic Act here, or in another country, he can't be a school employee or contractor.
the piaa lists details of act 24 offenses on its website and all sports officials must fill out the required forms and submit them to piaa. all school employees must fill them out and submit them to their districts.
there's more to this story and the arrest "in a foreign country 31 years ago" is likely right at the heart of this story.
the key to not being a coach under act 24 is being convicted of a felony. if he was not convicted of a felony under state law he can coach. also, it appears he was up front about what took place 30 years ago when hired.important to keep in mind is that pa is one of the few states that can terminate at will, needing no reason to terninate a person.
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