Teachers gather outside school Thursday morning in solidarity with Michael Cappelletti
Editor’s note: Timothy M. Kelley, the boys tennis coach and assistant basketball coach for the 2021-22 season, is not related to Timothy E. Kelley, the business administrator for the Ocean City School District.
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City High School teachers gathered beneath the arch of the former high school Thursday morning in solidarity with colleague Michael Cappelletti, whose contract as head basketball coach was not renewed the previous evening.
In making a raft of coaching appointments for next school year during the Ocean City Board of Education meeting Wednesday, school board members — in a split vote — decided not to return the first-year head coach to the job after months of parents appearing before the board criticizing him and the process following their daughters’ complaints.
In February, nearly the entire OCHS girls basketball team stood before the board and had a joint statement read complaining about being “verbally degraded, bullied, sworn at and called demeaning and disrespectful names” by their coach. They also complained that the coach was giving preferential treatment to his daughter, one of the varsity members of the team.
The players asked that the board not renew the coach’s contract for the 2022-23 season.
A number of the players’ parents appeared repeatedly at school board meetings since then, demanding action, reiterating the criticisms of the coach and turning their attention as well to the process in which they believe the administration failed in its responsibility to address student complaints they believed rose to the level of issues handled under the Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying process.
Following that first meeting in February, others stood up for Cappelletti, his coaching methods and his character. They included other coaches and numerous graduates who played for him during the 15 years he was the assistant basketball coach under Paul Baruffi. Baruffi retired after the 2020-21 season and Cappelletti was elevated to replace him for this past winter season.
“Cap is the nicest guy I’ve ever known,” said Julia Duggan, who was part of the school’s only state championship basketball team and went on to play Division I basketball and professionally in Europe. Another former player, Reilly Larkin, said Cappelletti was “nothing short of amazing. He is the most passionate, kind and gentle coach that I’ve experienced both in high school and college.”
Parents of the current players, who were happy when they heard of the school board’s decision Wednesday evening, had been more upset in the intervening months because their daughters were being harassed in person in school and on social media for standing up for themselves.
A lot of critics on social media attacked the girls on multiple fronts, saying they didn’t understand good coaching and what it takes to mold top-notch athletes. Others attacked their character as athletes and many attacked the athletes’ parents.
A Twitter post after Wednesday’s meeting from @OCHS_Football said, “An independent HIB investigation showed no evidence of bullying or harassment by the coach. He was recommended for rehire by the Super(intendant) and the AD (athletic director) … But the BOE fired him because parents complained about playing time. Disgraceful.” Right after the February meeting, head football coach Kevin Smith wrote a long letter to the editor of the Sentinel defending Cappelletti.
Players’ parents pointed out that their girls who asked for the coaching change had amassed a total of 33 varsity letters (13 under Baruffi and another 20 in other sports), were all honor roll students and had never expressed issues with any coach in the past.
To that point, it may be unprecedented at Ocean City High School that a team appeared before the board of education, en masse, and asked for a coach not to be rehired.
As part of back and forth, both those for and against the coach cited precedent that the school board would be setting.
Those who supported the coach said if the board voted not to renew Cappelletti’s coaching contract (the decision does not impact his tenure as a teacher) it would set an unsettling precedent for other coaches, showing that their tenure could be up to the whims of future athletes or parents.
Conversely, parents argued that if the contract were renewed, it would demonstrate the administration could unfairly tilt the process in favor of coaches and allow students to be discredited.
Teachers gather outside the school
Teachers gathered Thursday morning outside the high school and did not go into the school until the bell at 7:45 a.m. Normally they would have filtered in as they arrived.
Paul Matusz, president of the Ocean City Education Association (OCEA), released a statement about the gathering:
“The teachers and coaches of Ocean City stand in unity because we expect that if we do our jobs well, we shouldn’t lose our jobs. Mike Cappelletti won Press of Atlantic City Coach of the Year, an investigation into the allegations made against him found no evidence of wrongdoing, yet the Board of Education voted to go against the superintendent’s recommendation to keep him on as head coach.
“We feel the entire process by the way this was allowed to play out in public, at board meetings, unfairly influenced members of the board and necessitated that they make a decision based on public opinion instead of adhering to the board’s adopted procedures for renewing coaches and the facts gathered from the investigation.
“We are very grateful for those board members who supported the process last night and for Dr. (Thomas) Baruffi’s diligence in investigating the matter. While our main priority as teachers will always be the health and well-being of our students, as an association we will always fight for our members’ rights, especially when we feel that those rights are infringed upon.”
After the gathering Thursday morning, some parents who contacted the Sentinel asserted the teacher gathering – and the football Twitter post – amounted to more attempted intimidation of the students.
OCEA president addresses board
Before the Board of Education voted on Cappelletti’s contract Wednesday evening, Matusz appealed to the board to support the coach.
He said the “unfortunate situation” with the coach painted the district in a poor light, tarnished Cappelletti’s reputation and was difficult for the girls. He said teachers want all the students to be happy and safe and they wouldn’t support anyone who put them in harm’s way.
Matusz said while the issue has played out in public, there was a lengthy and thorough investigation into the concerns the girls raised.
“I cannot overstate the amount of time and resources the district has dedicated to this matter,” he said, noting it included a third-party investigation.
“Once all of the facts and data were compiled, the district’s superintendent recommended coach Cappelletti for renewal.
Teachers came to the meeting, he added, to support that process.
He also said comments were directed at school officials and teachers from community members to intimidate them.
“Where do we draw the line between an accusation and an attack? Frankly, this type of behavior is beneath what we strive to be as an institution and should concern all persons associated with our schools,” Matusz said.
“In order for us to reach our potential as a district, to reach a standard our students deserve, all parties involved must have trust that we all have the same intentions: that we are making decisions in terms of the welfare of children and that we will refuse to surrender our independent judgment to special interest or for personal gain or for the gain of friends,” he said.
Matusz said the OCEA has worked in good faith throughout the investigation and that evidence shows the administration has as well.
“We ask if the same can be said of all board members and if not, that you hold each other to that same standard.”
“Mike Cappelletti has a long track record as a coach on both boys and girls teams. He has been a teacher in the district for 20 years. Until now, there had never once been an issue raised concerning his character or how he treated young men and women,” Matusz said. “Coach Cappelletti’s performance also speaks for itself. There have been no findings to support the accusations levied against him, his team had a successful playoff run and he won Press of Atlantic City Coach of the Year as a first-year coach.”
He concluded, “The Code of Ethics for School Board Members obligates you to support and protect school personnel in proper performance of their duties. Mike Cappelletti has not been offered much protection but he deserves your support.”
Board vote split
At the meeting Wednesday evening, board members voted 7-4 to not renew the contract but did not comment on their reasons.
Board President Dr. Patrick Kane, Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes, Chris Halliday, Michael James, Jacqueline McAlister, Disston Vanderslice and Gregory Whelan voted against the contract.
Board Vice President Joseph Clark, Dr. Charles Roche, William Holmes and William Sooy voted to keep Cappelletti as coach.
The board did not vote on the contracts of assistant basketball coaches Timothy M. Kelley and Emily Gillian.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff