Assistant coach resigns after alleged bounty offer
Posted: Thursday, September 15, 2011 6:00 am | Updated: 6:26 am, Thu Sep 15, 2011.
An assistant coach for Morrisville’s football team has resigned amid allegations that he placed a bounty on a specific New Hope-Solebury player during the matchup between the two teams last weekend.
Defensive coordinator Jason Bresnen, a Morrisville Bulldog football player in the mid-1990s, was accused of telling his team that he would pay $100 to anyone who knocked the player out of the game during New Hope’s 29-6 win last Saturday afternoon.
It is an accusation that Bresnen denied in a phone conversation Wednesday night.
“Never would I tell a kid to deliberately hurt another player — ever,” Bresnen said. “I would never jeopardize that. I would never do anything to jeopardize a kid or his future.”
In a four-paragraph statement late Wednesday afternoon, Morrisville School District officials confirmed the resignation of an assistant football coach without mentioning Bresnen’s name.
“On Monday, Sept. 12, Morrisville School District administrators were informed of an incident that occurred during Saturday’s football game between Morrisville and New Hope-Solebury. It was reported to Morrisville by officials from New Hope-Solebury High School,” the statement read. “Subsequently, our assistant football coach offered his resignation today, citing personal reasons. We believe this matter has been resolved in the best interest of all parties, including the Morrisville School District and football team.”
Citing the fact that the matter was a personnel issue, Morrisville officials said they would make no further comment on the situation.
The alleged incident took place during the second half of Saturday’s game, which was moved to William Tennent because of flooding concerns at New Hope-Solebury.
Sideline officials made up of New Hope parents who were working the yardage chains overheard a statement they reported to be from Bresnen, placing a $100 bounty on the head of a prominent New Hope player.
Bresnen said the comment was taken out of context.
“I told them that if you continue to hit (the player) and gang tackle him, I’ll bet you $100 that we will wear him down,” Bresnen said. “I would never tell them to hurt a player. I’ve been around sports all my life, coaching youth football and such. I would never do anything like that.”
The parents working on the sideline took the issue to New Hope-Solebury’s athletic department, which contacted Morrisville administrators Monday morning. That set the wheels in motion for an investigation that eventually ended with Bresnen’s resignation Wednesday morning.
“For them to take it that way, it’s absurd,” Bresnen said. “But I did resign for the best interest of the kids and the program. New Hope was going to push the issue further (with the district and PIAA) and I didn’t think that was right.”
When contacted Wednesday afternoon, Morrisville head football coach Bill Quill declined to comment on the matter. Quill’s only comment was to say that the school “lost a great coach today.”
Sources have said that Morrisville’s belief is that Quill had no involvement in the situation.
New Hope-Solebury superintendent Raymond Boccuti said his school was keeping close tabs on how Morrisville was handling the situation after consulting the school earlier in the week. He added that he expected to hear from Morrisville Superintendent Bill Ferrera at some point later in the week after the investigation was concluded.
“Both New Hope-Solebury and Morrisville are interested in sportsmanship-like conduct, competition and safety,” Boccuti said. “When any of those things are compromised, we are concerned about the situation.”
Morrisville school officials met Wednesday with parents of members of the football team to inform them of the situation.
According to PIAA officials in Mechanicsburg and District One contacted on Wednesday, incidents like this are dealt at the local level. Only if the punishment is considered a “slap on the wrist” would district or PIAA officials consider getting involved in the situation.
14 comments:
Front page news. Not good for MV's rep.
I think I've been in the corporate world for too long. I was able to see the subtext very clearly.
"On Monday, Sept. 12, Morrisville School District administrators were informed of an incident that occurred..." We confirm the incident occurred
"...It was reported to Morrisville by officials from New Hope-Solebury High School..." The idiot wasn't smart enough to cover his tracks.
"Subsequently, our assistant football coach offered his resignation today, citing personal reasons." If you're an idiot, you die an idiot's death.
"...We believe this matter has been resolved in the best interest of all parties..." We take no responsibility, the idiot is out there on his own, and officially this never occurred.
A FOX 29 News Van is at MHS. Is this the topic?
Luckily we have a paid Public Relations Director for just such an emergency.
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/coach-denies-he-put-bounty-on-player-091511
Dave May of all people doesn't come off looking too good here @ 1:20
Official district statement.
http://www.mv.org/files/news/statement%2009142011%2Epdf
This type of press tends to define Morrisville and only adds to a negative feel that some have about Morrisville Borough, which is very sad. What I do know to be true is that Morrisville Football is a huge success for Morrisville Borough, no matter what the outcome of a game or a season may be. The benefits are obvious to anyone who wishes to attend.
Before every game you will see the band and the color guard marching through our little town, playing as they make their way to the A Field. Attending the game itself costs almost nothing yet makes money for such activities. Thanks to Morrisville volunteers, anyone can grab a late dinner or an awesome (but fattening) dessert from the snack shack or purchase any of the many school spirit items sold at the tables along the way to the stands with the many folks who come out to cheer on the bulldogs. When there is a home game there are sure to be lots of Morrisville kids of all ages running around having a great time. Not to mention how fortunate we all are that our tiny borough even has a football team, a band, and a color guard. How fortunate Morrisville is to have kids who want to put in the time for these activities. To me, these are the things you won’t read in the newspapers but they are what really defines Morrisville Borough.
(this is just my two cents)
Great post.
Morrisville coach Jason Bresnen resigns amid New Hope-Solebury football controversy
Published: Thursday, September 15, 2011
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By Steve Sherman
BucksLocalSports.com Editor
Did a Morrisville assistant coach place a bounty on the head of a New Hope-Solebury football player in the second half of last Saturday's win over the Bulldogs? NH-S parents say yes.
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Morrisville School District released a statement yesterday (Wednesday, Sept. 14) announcing the resignation of one of its football coaches.
While the district did not mention the coach by name, published reported have surfaced indicating the coach that quit was defensive coordinator Jason Bresnen.
According to the report, which has been picked up by the Associated Press and distributed nationwide, the coach resigned amid allegations he offered a $100 reward if one of his Bulldogs could take a New Hope-Solebury player out of the game which took place Sept. 10 at William Tennent's Claude Lodge Stadium.
According to the report, there were some New Hope parents who were working the sidelines who overheard the coach make the statements during the second half of the football game. Those parents took their concerns to the Lions athletic department, which contacted Morrisville school officials on Monday (Sept. 12).
The coach has denied placing the bounty, saying his statements were misinterpreted and taken out of context. Reports have also indicated that Bulldogs head coach Bill Quill had nothing to do with the incident which Morrisville School District addressed in the statement below:
"On Monday, Sept. 12, Morrisville School District administrators were informed of an incident that occurred during Saturday's football game between the Morrisville and New Hope-Solebury high schools.
"It was reported to Morrisville by officials of the New Hope-Solebury High School. Immediately, Morrisville administrators, football coaches and staff began working with New Hope-Solebury to assemble the facts and ultimately resolve this issue.
"Subsequently, our assistant football coach offered his resignation today, citing personal reasons.
"We believe this matter has been resolved in the best interest of all parties, including the Morrisville School District and our football team. Because this is a personnel issue, we are not permitted to make further public comment."
The game in question was won by New Hope, 29-6, as the Lions pushed their way to 2-0 on the season while the Bulldogs fell to 0-2.
NH-S senior tailback Julian Kaminoff, who reportedly has received scholarship offers from Division I-A Buffalo and Division I-AA Fordham, raced for touchdowns of 3, 31 and 27 yards to put the Lions on top, 22-0, in the third quarter.
Kaminoff also rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown in New Hope's season-opening win over George School on Sept. 3 in Newtown. However, there's been no word on whether or not the player at the center of this controversy was Kaminoff.
thank you anonymous above about our little borough and all it has to offer. AGree 100% and love the feel when that band turns that corner into the field. These kids work hard, have great heart and deserve a chance at the best. They deserve our respect in turn. Go Dawgs at tonights game!!!
Football
Two-Minute Drill
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Posted: Friday, September 16, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 8:26 am, Fri Sep 16, 2011.
Two-Minute Drill By Dan Dunkin Staff writer Calkins Media, Inc. | 0 comments
Morrisville Bounty-Gate
I can't stand to see a kid physically threatened by an over-the-line opposing coach.
Nor can I stand to see coaching careers possibly ruined by inaccurate accusations.
In a well-reported story Thursday by our Kevin Cooney, now former Morrisville defensive coordinator Jason Bresnen, who resigned Wednesday, strongly denied that he placed a $100 bounty on a New Hope-Solebury player.
Bresnen told Cooney, "I told (his defense) that if they continue to hit (the player) and gang-tackle him, I'll bet you $100 that we wear him down."
An online comment on Cooney's story, allegedly from the father of the targeted New Hope player, strongly disagreed.
"He wouldn't have resigned so quickly if he did nothing wrong. He actually said, ‘I have $100 in my pocket for anyone who takes the kid out of the game.' That is a bounty, and has no business in high school football."
No, it doesn't. And if Bresnen said that or something close to that, he shouldn't be on Morrisville's sideline.
There's reason to wonder, though, if Bresnen really said something that could be construed as a bounty. Some of the online comments suggested that it was Bresnen who was ganged up on. New Hope parents working the sideline yardage chains in that game reportedly heard Bresnen issue a bounty and reported it to their athletic department. But did they get caught up in the heat of battle and twist what he said?
Or did Bresnen lose it and say the alleged words en route to Morrisville's taking a 29-6 pounding? We'll never know for sure, unless someone had a tape running nearby.
The expediency with which the situation was handled by both school districts shows either the facts cost Bresnen his job, or the pressure of the allegations on Morrisville forced Bresnen to resign.
But if the facts weren't clear and corroborated and he insisted his innocence, Morrisville owed Bresnen a better defense.
If he did say it, there's no defense.
how about the board forced him to resign and now wont allow him in the gates of the field. This man did not commit a crime, he was not arrested or convicted and he is still a parent and a community member, a well liked one I might add, so where does the board get off banning him from watching a football game with the rest of his community.
According to the Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, MyFoxPhilly.com and other Philadelphia area sources, Morrisville (Pa.) High assistant football coach Jason Bresnen offered $100 to any of his players who could knock out the star running back for New Hope-Solesbury (Pa.) High during New Hope's 29-6 victory on Saturday. Though the player on whom Bresnen placed the bounty has not officially been revealed, New Hope running back Julian Kaminoff scored three touchdowns before Bresnen allegedly loudly declared to his players on the sideline that he would give $100 to anyone who knocked the player out of the game.
Bresnen resigned from his position as defensive coordinator on Thursday amid pressure from both the Morrisville School District and outside sources. Yet Bresnan also refused to admit that he placed an actual "bounty" on the head of an opposing player in an interview with The Courier Times.
"I told them that if you continue to hit [the player] and gang tackle him, I'll bet you $100 that we will wear him down," Bresnen told the New Jersey newspaper. "I would never tell them to hurt a player. I've been around sports all my life, coaching youth football and such. I would never do anything like that.
"Never would I tell a kid to deliberately hurt another player -- ever. I would never jeopardize that. I would never do anything to jeopardize a kid or his future."
Bresnen's account of his offer to Morrisville players flies in the face of original reports which came from New Hope-Solesbury parents who were working the stadium's sideline yardage chains during the game. They originally reported the statement to school officials, who then brought up the issue with Morrisville officials, and later with Bresnen himself.
While Bresnen's departure will likely end the possibility of any further recriminations from the event, he continued to defend his actions, but said that he needed to step aside to protect the Morrisville program, for which he played himself in the mid-1990s.
"I did mention $100, which was bad judgment on my part, but it was not in the context that those parents said it was," Bresnen told the Inquirer. "We wanted to get him out of the game. Getting him out of the game doesn't mean taking him out. It means wearing him down. You want to stop their leading rusher.
"If I didn't resign, I was going to be facing a suspension. They were going to take individual players and question them about what happened. I believe that would have been a huge distraction for the kids and the team. So I resigned, saying it was for personal reasons."
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