A winning high school football coach in New Jersey claims hes being fired because there are too many black players on the team.
Camden Catholics Nick Strom told the Courier-Post that president Mary Whiskey and principal Heather Crisci asked him to resign as head coach for the football and golf team after letting him know his teacher contract is up.
I think this [is] from me not conforming with their viewpoints on what they want the student body and the football team to look like, Strom told the paper. Ive tried to build this program into one thats based on kids being of ability, high character, and high grades.”
From Day 1, the administration told me they did not approve of the ratio of black to white students.
Strom says that minority players comprise about half the team at this predominately white school. He claims since being hired in 2013, discussions about the teams race has been brought up multiple times.
When Id have a list of potential freshmen, the first question Id be asked is if they were white or black, Strom said. I was confused about why the question was, How can we get more white players in the program or on the field?
Camden Catholic denied the claims in a statement:
On Friday, April 27, Camden Catholic High School notified an untenured faculty member that his contract would not be renewed for the 2018-19 school year. We do not comment on personnel matters, but it has come to our attention that he has chosen to muddy the reasons for his dismissal with baseless accusations against the school and administration. Any concern about racism or racial insensitivity is taken seriously and investigated fully.
As the schools football coach, Strom held a 34-6 record.
