The Simeon and Morgan Park High School basketball teams ended their game at Chicago State University with a melee between players on the court. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)
Simeon coach Robert Smith and Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin each have been suspended for four games by Chicago Public Schools officials as a result of their conduct at a Jan. 16 basketball game, CPS said in a statement Wednesday.
CPS chief executive officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett said in a statement that the coaches violated the CPS code of conduct with their words and actions at the game.
After a 53-51 Simeon victory over Morgan Park, a fight broke out between the teams in the handshake line at Chicago State. It was quickly cleared up, but coaches from the teams continued to yell at each other after the teams were sent to their locker rooms.
Outside of the gymnasium after the game, a 17-year-old Morgan Park student was shot to death.
“Coaches in Chicago Public Schools must serve as mentors, instructors and role models for our students both on and off the court or field of competition,” Byrd-Bennett said in the statement. “The children under their charge take their cues from them on what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Knowing this, coaches must at all times conduct themselves in a professional and sportsmanlike manner.
“Through both words and actions, the boys basketball coaches of Morgan Park and Simeon high schools on Jan. 16 violated the code of conduct to which they all must subscribe as a basic responsibility of their positions. We have taken the proper disciplinary steps to address their actions.”
Among the games that Smith will miss is Saturday's meeting with No. 1 Young. Smith and Irvin are each required to attend the games during their suspensions in a non-coaching capacity.
In a letter drafted to send out to CPS schools Wednesday, Byrd-Bennett said she was “gravely concerned about the culture of our athletic competitions, and (was) both shocked and appalled at the unsportsmanlike conduct exhibited, not only by students, but by coaches as well.”
She said that what administrators and coaches do to “address this grave concern will ultimately determine whether our sports program is promoted or eliminated.”
All CPS coaches are required to attend a meeting Feb. 2, when expectations will be discussed in more detail.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the schools' coaches had a responsibility to be role models for their players.
“I think all the adults that went to that game have a role to play in setting an example for our kids,” Emanuel said when asked about the suspensions at an unrelated news conference. “That includes the refs. That includes the parents in the bleachers, and it also includes the coaches. Players look to you. Kids going to the schools, as well as going to the games, look to you. And if you had any role or position in which you did not set an example, that's more than just unfortunate.”
Smith, in a black T-shirt and jeans, sat at the top of Bogan’s bleachers for Simeon’s game against the Bengals on Wednesday. He leaned over the team’s bench to slap his players’ hands after their 67-48 victory, which was coached by ninth-year assistant Leonard Thomas, the head sophomore coach.
Smith declined to comment on his suspension, but Thomas said Simeon is accepting the suspension and moving forward.
“We work for CPS, and if they say somebody’s suspended, they’re suspended,” Thomas said. “That’s the way I look at it.
“(The altercation between teams) was a bad thing that happened, but it did. The only thing we can do is move forward and hope that it doesn’t happen again.”
Calls Irvin were not returned Wednesday afternoon. The Chicago Sun-Times and the website Illinois Prep Bulls-eye first reported the suspensions.
CPS confirmed Wednesday that it has adjusted the leadership positions within the sports administration department, though spokesman Frank Shuftan said it has been in the works for a while.
CPS has named Thomas Trotter the executive director of sports administration, while former sports administration director Calvin Davis is now the director of interscholastic competitions, reporting to Trotter.
Trotter will focus on administrative and operational duties, while Davis' duties will including focusing on CPS sports' TV ventures and working to promote the sports program, Shuftan said.
ckane@tribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribKane
Contributing: David Haugh, John Byrne.
CPS chief 'shocked and appalled' at coaches' role in fight
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CPS chief 'shocked and appalled' at coaches' role in fight
