A large group of students at Pine-Richland are not going away quietly after the schools’ football coach was abruptly fired on Wednesday.
A mix of players and students gathered outside the school Friday morning in support of coach Eric Kasperowicz and his staff.
They're holding signs and cheering in the rain, skipping class to support head coach Eric Kasperowicz and all his assistants who got an email this week informing them their contracts would not be renewed next season.
The Rams are the reigning 5A state champs and many in the district are upset about the firing. Jeremiah Hasley is a player who will be a senior in the fall. He said, "I've known Coach K, a lot of us rising seniors have known Coach K for a while. Since the middle school program, they've really built us to be prepared for the varsity seasons coming up for us and we just support him in every way."
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Supporters of the coaches are hoping to have them reinstated. One student says its the superintendent who needs to go.
"It's just sad because, if teachers are crying and kids are crying in the middle of school, the administration should know that they did something wrong and that people want to see Dr. Miller be fired because he never liked Coach K and he always wanted him to fail."
Pine-Richland football player Sam Heckert has high praise for the coach saying, "He's done nothing but help all the kids, trying to make sure everyone's on task. Including me and everyone else, I think we're out here just supporting him and trying to get him back because he's such a valuable asset to Pine-Richland and the whole community."
One parent told News Radio KDKA that she's upset about the lack of transparency.
"I'd like transparency from the school board and the administration to understand what happened," she said. "Certainly if there's a serious allegation, then I would like to know what that is, but without any evidence that anything actually - you hazing or inappropriate activity took place, I'd like to see action from the administration to say why they made this decision."
The supporters have also begun a petition with thousands of signatures so far.
Kasperowicz has led the Rams to four WPIAL titles and two state championships.
White reports that while it’s unknown why Kasperowicz and his staff were let go, administration officials say they were informed of possible hazing incidents in recent seasons.
But players and parents claim there was a witch hunt by school officials to get rid of Kasperowicz and his staff.
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On Thursday morning Kasperowicz responded through his attorney with a statement.
In the statement, Kasperowicz says he is “disappointed” by the decision and that no hazing took place and if he was told of any incidents he took care of them immediately.
