David Coggins is among three Sacred Heart players ruled ineligible by the CIAC for the first four games of this season. Credit: Chris Massa/Rep-Am
Citizen’s News and the Republican-American just reported the rulings by the CIAC in regard to the recruitment of three Sacred Heart players by former Naugatuck head coach Rob Plasky over the summer.
The CIAC fined Naugatuck High $7,500 and put the football program (Re-update 5:10 p.m.: Football team, not school, is on probation, according to CIAC release) on a two-year probation. In addition, the CIAC will require Naugatuck to implement the recommendations issued in the investigative report earlier this month, including stricter handling of booster club funds and training for anyone involved in fundraising or coaching.
In addition, the CIAC ruled David Coggins, Javon Martin and Xavier Woods ineligible until the fifth game of this season. They will be eligible to return Oct. 12 against Crosby.
We will link to stories as they are posted. Citizen’s News editor Elio Gugliotti and Rep-Am reporters Mark Jaffee and Alia Malik were all at the meeting.
Update (4:15 p.m.): Here’s the Rep-Am’s bulletin piece on the situation.
Update (6:40 p.m.): Here’s the Citizen’s News piece, which much better fleshes out the meeting and the penalties.
Update (Friday, 9:50 a.m.): Jaffee talked to all three suspended players. You can read his story here. He also reports Wolcott’s Joe Lynch is immediately eligible for the Eagles and can play tonight against Torrington. He transferred from Holy Cross before this school year.
As usual the school administrators took care of each other and thre the book at the teenagers. This decision would embarrass the NCAA.
I have no problem whatsoever with the entire decision. All parts are fair to me.
We would be naive to think the players did not have a significant role in their recruitment (they wanted to leave, they picked Naugatuck, they texted Rob Plasky, they attended camp “independently” with Naugatuck).
People can argue that the adult in the situation are more responsible and I agree. They should have stopped this at various points during the summer. But to say the players should be absolved of their responsibility because they’re kids is absurd. They knew what they were doing was against the rules (we had been posting about it here since the rumors first started) and they continued to push the envelope.
Football is a sport that requires responsibility. If the players couldn’t be responsible enough to know what they were doing was wrong, they don’t deserve the privilege of playing football.
Everyone always uses this “they’re kids” excuse for all sorts of things. When I was 18 years old (not too long ago), I absolutely hated the “kid” stigma. Teenagers have responsibility to be accountable for their own actions and understand the consequences of what they (and people around them) are doing.
I wouldn’t have minded a full-season suspension.
I respectfully disagree with some of this. I think the punishment for the kids is fair enough.
1)The only reason why this is an issue is because of outstanding tution. If they went from Crosby to Wilby nobody would care.
2)I know we would like to think that they should have had more sense and acted as adults but they are still in high school for a reason. They are kids. I dont even think its fair to say they made a mistake because no money went into their pockets personally.
3) They wanted to leave and were left with virtually no choice, Sacred Heart said no until you pay us our tuition. So I find it hard to believe a kid plays for a this catholic institution, for 3 years, brings them to a playoff, earns a scholarship and now in his senior year which was primed to be a great one theres an issue with tuition. My question is how could they afford tuition for the years prior if 2,000 was an issue now? That doesnt seem a little fishy?
4) The former coach Chris Ortiz brought them there and then left, its a crappy situation but nonetheless it happened. can we really be upset at the kids for wanting to leave? Did you see the Woodland game?
5) Until this issue was brought to everyone’s attention,many people including myself didnt know the CIAC rules about tranferring I doubt they picked up the rule book.
6) This transferring stuff doesnt bother me but its got to be fair all around and if we are all ticked about the situation enough to want to punish the kids make it fair around the league and around the state. Send that Ansonia backfield back to waterbury. Oh I forgot they didnt owe any money to anyone so its ok. They can pick up and move their family out with no problem, and Im sure no special arrangments were made to facilitate the move. (just using them as an example, not picking) but again I reiterate make it fair. its the same situation minus the money.
This situation is a joke on so many levels from parents to coaches to players, and we are forgetting that we are suppose to be playing football.
My message to kids out there if your a good ball player, your a good ball player period. No team should determine your worth or how many wins your gonna get in a season, or which college may look at you. When you get to the next level it wont matter because everyone is just as talented as you are . If you want to win and be a good ball player, that my friends is a matter of personal responsiblity and you will get out what you put in.
I could be wrong but it seems the real culprit is getting away with this. Rob Plasky’s can now coach again somewhere. He did not have to pay anything out of his pocket and lastly three players get punished and he doesn’t. Seem fair to you.
Kyle at 18 you must have been the exception to the rule. When a head football coach is an adult who-encourages misuse of the system he is taking advantage of kids.
I don’t think Rob will be coaching anywhere anytime soon. That was a part of the problem that seemingly took care of itself so I don’t blame the CIAC for not wasting any time on it.
Like I said, I think the adults (particularly Plasky and Martin; I still think Johnson was a bit hoodwinked) are more responsible than any of the players.
But if I were a player, I would sure as hell know that what I might be doing (or what my mother might be doing on my behalf) could risk my eligibility.
I have no qualms about holding other people to the same expectations to which I held myself at a certain point in my life, and I know I wouldn’t have done that when I was a few years younger.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to compare this to cheating on a test. A kid asks his dad if he can cheat on a test so he can play in a game that week. Dad says yes. Kid gets caught in the act. Sure, dad is responsible for enabling him, but absolving the kid does nobody any good.
I think it stinks but I said it yesterday there are lots of juniors and seniors who were not on this team last year. I am sure more than enough recruitment went on with this coaching staff. Even the guys left to coach out the year deserve scrutiny. They had to know what was going on. As you can see I did not find this process to be fair to all. The school pays without involvement and the kids who didn’t know better pay, but the adults who orchestrated everything get away cleanly.
I don’t think anyone on the current staff knew that was going on. Everything I know from reading the staff’s statement, talking to the guys and talking to other folks who know them better, they would not have supported Plasky in any of the recruitment.
I agree they deserved punishment. But no one at Naugatuck got so much as a slap on the wrist?
Well a $7,500 fine is more than a slap on the wrist. It will be interesting to see how the district handles it and how people are affected.
I agree with your point that nobody in particular at Naugatuck was reprimanded, but Plasky was really the only punishable party from the school, according to everything I know about the situation. At this point, that would be like beating a dead horse.
This is what happens when you don’t dot the i’s and cross the t’s like some people make sure they do.
It think it’s irresponsible to just suspend the players 4 games and call it a day. I would much rather see a 2 game suspension with some sort of counseling/mentoring for the players involved. This way it gives the team a chance to salvage its season and make sure the 3 student athletes understand their wrong doing. The coddling of these athletes, in some instances, gives them a feeling of entitlement. That not only leads to situations like we have here, but it can also be detrimental to the student athlete after football.
Man, I could not agree more with that statement!
Yes.
I hope the CSCIAC officials take the $7500 and more funds and hire a post highschool consultant that teaches these HS football players that there is more to come! Hats off to Thomas…Yale grad. I would like to see Dobbs play in college.(not on Temples roster) What could Newsome become if he understands the road doesn’t end after AHS Football. Coggins recruitment could have cost him so much more than 4 games in High School. What is the value of a win? Run a seminar for all juniors who expect to play in college with the $ you get. Educate them. Some HS coaches worry more about winning now than creating a winner in life. Judgements get clouded by won loss records. I love to read the who is where section of the Voices. All of these ex local players succeeding in college. I wonder how many broke the rules in High School to go play at a neighboring school. Take the $7500 and help the kids understand that sometimes coaches have more interest in themselves.