Earlier this month, five offers of compromise were issued to the Darien Board of Education and individuals personally involved in a wild complaint that was originally filed on January 26, 2021, against the Darien Board of Education. The offers of compromise ask for millions of dollars in compensation.
The complaint reads like a movie plot for Friday Night Lights meets The Stepford Wives.
The events allegedly took place before and after the school’s very successful football coach swung and hit the head of a 15-year-old superstar football player so hard that it caused the 265-pound boy to stumble forward several feet and nearly fall over. The hit took place on October 1, 2016.
The salacious details of the case range from money laundering to bullying of the football player to the point that he attempted suicide to death threats being made against the boy’s mother who happened to sit on the Board of Education. Even allegations about an affair between the football coach and a parent, as well as sexual assaults that allegedly took place on the swim team were brought to light. The hazing these children allegedly experienced was astonishing.
The case also outlines how the coach was allegedly protected from punishment by the Board of Education, and how others allegedly conspired to produce a false narrative about the attack on the boy, and turn the tables to suggest the boy was at fault. All to protect their beloved coach with the winning track record.
The coach's narrative suggested that the hit wasn’t that hard and the boy made mistakes, despite a school video of the event that directly refutes the narrative. A group of parents fundraising for football lights joined the efforts to promote the coach's narrative, too.
The coach was able to convince a reporter in the Stamford Advocate to publish his version of the story, which was designed to protect this very successful football coach. The article was picked up in the local Darien papers, too. Then other people started to pile on with social media posts, all taking the side of the coach.
The 15-year-old was eventually denied well-deserved football awards. His name and picture were removed from the football yearbook and replaced with a meme that read “no guts, no glory” instead. Prior to this, the boy had been the team’s star player, but now none of the players would even talk to the boy.
Making matters worse, the Darien BOE allegedly released the boy's school records, which resulted in him being forced out of Darien High School and having to go to a private school for his senior year.
The case details include a host of alleged violations of school policy that were completely ignored by the Darien BOE, and it also alleges that the BOE took steps to cover up and hide the money laundering [which was investigated by Darien Police].
In fact, one BOE member spoke very candidly about these known violations and the questionable history of the coach, and suggested that no one would do anything about it.
Why is it that so many Boards of Education fail to enforce their own policies? Why defend a coach with so many alleged ethics issues just because he wins games? Is winning more important than honesty and integrity? Hmm...
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