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Intrigue builds for Wednesday's board meeting
By JOE VINELLI
Era Sports Editor
The intrigue is building.
Don’t be surprised if some high-stakes brinksmanship unfolds at 7 p.m. today at the Bradford Area School Board meeting at Floyd C. Fretz Middle School.
At issue is why Bradford High assistant football coach Jerry Pattison was not rehired for the 2009 season. Pattison has served as assistant coach at BAHS for 15 years.
The decision has created outrage within the football coaching staff as well as the players, community and student body.
In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if most or all of the football coaching staff submitted their resignations tonight to protest the decision by Sam Johnson (director of human resources for the Bradford Area School District) and Sandra Romanowski (Bradford Area School District Superintendent).
Coaches Bret Petitt and Steve Kloss suggested last week they were prepared to tender their resignations if Pattison wasn’t rehired.
Coaches in the school district are hired as part of a supplemental position on a one-year contract. As a result the administration can hire and fire without cause - which seems apparent in this case.
Talk about the school district having a potential public relations disaster on its hands. To be sure, it would not only be the talk of Bradford, but it would be the talk around the water coolers in the Big 30, District 9 and District 10.
Hell, I didn’t even have my breaking news story finished last Tuesday night when I received a call from an out-of-town media member wanting to know about the controversy brewing.
I talked to one player over the weekend who said the team was “shocked and angered” that Pattison was not rehired. Don’t be surprised if the players do something bold - like boycott the entire 2009 season.
One thing is clear - the administration is trying to usurp the power of head coach Steve Ackerman and athletic director Tim Walter.
Ackerman’s comment when he found out Pattison wasn’t rehired was “Don’t I have the right to pick who I have on my staff?”
Furthermore, Walter - whose responsibility is to hire the coaches - is kept in the dark as to why Pattison wasn’t rehired.
This is all very puzzling and troubling.
“They wouldn’t tell him (Walter) anything,” Pattison said last week. “He was told to say it was a personnel decision. Tim seemed flabbergasted by the whole thing.”
I have received a few e-mails in the last week about the situation.
One is from BAHS graduate Kyle Sturm. Sturm, who now lives in Hillsboro, Ore., took issue with the way Pattison is being treated.
“As an alumni of Bradford Area High School and the football program, I am embarrassed to see the way that coach Pattison has been recently treated,” Sturm wrote. “His dedication to the healthy development of the local youths cannot be understated. He is more than a coach. He is a fantastic teacher, mentor and friend.
“The fact that he is not being brought back as a coach is questionable. The fact that he is not being extended the simple courtesy of an explanation is shameful.
“Those of us who have been privileged to reap the benefits of coach Pattison’s dedication would like an explanation for this decision. Coach Pattision deserves an explanation. Anything less is cowardice and an abuse of position.”
Former Bradford resident Nate George wrote, “I am writing this letter to protest the firing of Jerry Pattison as an assistant football coach at Bradford High. I have known Jerry for about 15 years. When we are out in public, he is always approached by former players and students. He is a man of high character.
“When I was diagnosed with cancer for the second time, Jerry was always there for me. When I had a checkup at Roswell, and nobody in my family could take me, without hesitation, Jerry volunteered to take me on his day off. He is being made to look like a bad guy - being let go without a reason. I think we all know who the bad guys are in this situation.”
Lastly, Chris and Jennifer Hill of Smethport offered these thoughts: “We are writing in support of Jerry Pattison. Jerry has always been passionate about coaching and does it for the players. He never looks for glory for himself. A few years back, after hearing at school that a player’s parents were not going to show up for Senior Night, coach Pattison volunteered to walk the player across the field. He did not even tell the other coaches - he just slipped back into the locker room before the game and told them that he simply had something to take care of.
“The student-athletes will be the ones that suffer if he is not rehired. Please don’t allow this to happen. He not only deserves to be told a reason but the parents, players, students and supporters of the team deserve to be told why this great coach is being let go.”
Ultimately, the school board will have the final say in this matter.
Stay tuned to see how this drama unfolds.
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