NJ High School Football Coaches released from bullying costs received a settlement of $ 900K

The Cedar Grove Board of Education was agreed at the end of last year to pay former old football coach Ed Sadloch and three assistant coaches a total of $ 900,000 to arrange claims that they were fired illegally, according to documents obtained by NJ Advance Media.

The settlement was approved by the board during his meeting of 29 October. The board, which provided a copy of the settlement agreement in response to an open public archives request, did not respond to a separate request for comments.

Steven D. Farsiou, a lawyer who represents the four coaches, said in a statement that the case should have been resolved a long time ago. But he has credited the current sign to help resolve the court case.

To be clear, coach Sadloch nor the other coaches did something inappropriate, Farsiou said. The whole situation was completely wrong from the start.

The settlement agreement of seven pages ends a legal saga that started in September 2013, when five Cedar Grove High School football coaches, including Sadloch, were abruptly suspended.

School officials in the Essex County district at that time did not offer any reason for the suspensions, but some in the community publicly speculated That the coaches were accused of bullying after labeling a player De Riddler for asking too many questions.

Sadloch was back coaching after a suspension of one game. Two of his assistant coaches returned shortly thereafter. According to their lawsuit, the remaining two coaches were kept with administrative leave for the entire season.

The coaches later discovered that a player and his family submitted a complaint about bullying and intimidation a month before the suspensions, the court case said.

None of the coaches was informed when the schools anti-bullying An investigation was launched according to the court case. The specialist is said to have found one of the assistant coaches that tape on the students who practiced sweater in the form of a question mark.

The coach has put the question mark on the student jersey to make him aware that he analyzes too much while playing, the anti-bullying specialist said.

The anti-bullying specialist knew Sadloch and the other coaches of misconduct. But the fact that they told third parties until it was concluded after the investigation that they reportedly robbed the chance of defending themselves.

In December the coaches appealed against the suspensions. More than a year later, in March 2015, an administrative court ruled in their favor, according to their court case. Finding the necessary procedural rights of the coaches was violated, the judge ordered their workforce to have scrubbed any mention of the case.

Sadloch and three of his coaches Brian Gogerty, Michael Weber and David Sinisi suggested the Cedar Grove Board of Education in the middle of the football season in September 2015. They claimed that the administrative decision did not have the financial compensation for delivery and could not tackle.

The fifth coach who was suspended refused to participate in the court case, Farsiou said.

At the end of the season, Sadloch was told that his contract with the district would not be renewed, according to a changed version of his lawsuit that was filed in 2017. After 25 years as the main football coach of Cedar Groves, he reportedly had five days to clean up his office.

Sadloch withdrew after coaching in 2023 after a career of 51 seasons, the self -appointed Winning coach in Essex County.

During his term of office in Cedar Grove, the Panthers won 203 of 268 games. The team also appeared 20 performances at the NJSiaa Playoff Finals, who won five, said Sadlochs amended complaint.

Farsiou said in his statement that Sadloch was a legend and a nationally recognized figure in high school football.

He is now retired, but he deserved the right to go out the way he wanted, the lawyer said. He lost to coaching options based on this situation. It is shameful what the school has done to him.

After leaving Cedar Grove, Sadloch took on other coaching jobs before he ended up at the Bloomfield High School, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach.

When his retirement was announced, Sadloch said it was time to resign. I had a huge time to coach, he said at the time.