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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=48389.91

Coaches suspended from parks activities

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Two coaches have been suspended from Michigan City Park & Recreation youth activities and the Baseball Player's Association for one year.

The suspensions were effective Aug. 7.

Then-Michigan City Park Superintendent Darrell Garbacik suspended youth travel baseball head coach Scott Kaletha and assistant coach Mike Schwanke. They have requested separate closed appeal hearings with the park board.

The hearings have been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2, following the park board meeting. Kaletha said he looks forward to the opportunity to meet with the park board.

"The suspension was handed down on the opinion of one person," Kaletha said, referring to Garbacik. "He's the one who did this so-called investigation. I'm very confident that the truth will come out and the suspension will be overturned. I will have statements and witnesses that will refute the opinion of the superintendent."

Garbacik suspended the coaches for allowing inappropriate language to be used by adults and boys on teams under their direction. The language was apparently directed. They also were cited for ignoring ethics codes. They have denied any wrongdoing.

Garbacik's decision came after a two-month investigation that started with complaints a 12-year-old baseball player was being harassed. The boy's parents contacted Garbacik in June after finding out their son was being called names such as "gay, fag, homo and queer" by other players.

Kaletha told Garbacik he was aware of the comments, but called it "joking and humor" and "just boys being boys."

Both coaches said the comments had been made for some time, but they denied participating in the harassment. However, Kaletha said he often engages in name-calling with players and said it was a common practice among coaches when he was a young player to use words such as "homo and fag."

Garbacik said, "I explained to the coach that in today's society, one's personal orientations, religious beliefs, etc., are protected and nothing to ever joke about."

Kaletha defended himself, saying he hadn't done anything wrong and didn't feel the language and behavior was wrong.

According to Garbacik, the harassment began after Kaletha and some boys drove by and allegedly saw the targeted boy and another boy wrestling with each other. After Kaletha and the boys saw the two wrestling, rumors began that the wrestling took place in the nude, an account that was never substantiated.

After that, Kaletha and the boys began joking about what they supposedly saw, and the harassing behavior continued at baseball events and elsewhere.

Garbacik said he asked adults who were involved with youth sports for their observations about Kaletha. The consensus was that Kaletha generously volunteered his time and is good at teaching fundamentals, but acts as if "his way is the only way, and he doesn't care what anyone else thinks."

While Garbacik was still conducting his investigation, Kaletha and Schwanke were ejected from a June Baseball Player's Association tournament for 9-year-old baseball players in Warsaw, Ind.

Garbacik attended the BPA Indiana State Tournament game there, during which Kaletha and Schwanke yelled at officials and accused members of the opposing team of intentionally hitting their players with pitches and running into them on bases. Schwanke was ejected first, Garbacik reported, causing Kaletha to begin "a tirade of arguing with the umpires." After ignoring a warning to stop his behavior, Kaletha was ejected as well.

In Garbacik's report, the coaches reportedly told their players to throw at Warsaw players, and that Kaletha and Schwanke challenged the opposing coaches to a fight.

In a subsequent meeting with the coaches, Garbacik said he asked if they read the Lakefront Little League Code of Conduct and the BPA Harassment Policy. Kaletha reportedly said all coaches violate the codes, and the BPA umpires were at fault for letting the game "get out of hand."

"The head coach (Kaletha) has in fact changed his accounts and versions," Garbacik said in his report, "and I believe has intentionally and methodically tried to sway and mislead others to join his cause for his sole and personal benefit, while not taking the best interest of young participants into account."

Schwanke was suspended for knowing about and participating in the harassment.

Park Board Attorney Patrick Donoghue said the coaches are entitled to bring their own attorneys to the Oct. 2 appeal hearings, but must let the park board know in advance in order to arrange legal counsel for park department employees.

The Park Board will act as a neutral observer during the hearings, which will be recorded by a court reporter, Donoghue said. The park board will announce its decision about the suspensions during the next public board meeting following the hearing.


Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.