eastside high school scandal

Ortiz arrived in Paterson unexpectedly in 2012. The Beat reporters heard each other out and decided to invite a teacher, a college student and a parent maybe Azucenas mother to participate in a radio talk show about the scandal. "He was very intrigued and impressed with her level and quality of skills and wanted to speak more in depth with her and her family about the opportunity of a lifetime," the report said. The big picture is this: We are working to restore our school's previous administrative structure. Selwyn's knee healed, but his relationship with the coach never did. Seattle Times staff reporter On the night of April 20, 2018, five players from Eastside Catholic's powerhouse high school football team rode through Bellevue in a pickup with a 16-year-old. Ejiofor said the Jordans "did (their) best to make sure I was okay and comfortable. Eastside HS Athletic Department Contacts downloadable PDF . Officials said Johnson has been using sick days she accumulated during her career with Paterson Public Schools, which started in 1979. The change was posted the day after the school had a meeting with parents. Based on all the feedback, we realized that both the changes and their timing were a mistake. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com), *Season's over: Eastside boys pull out of Passaic County Tournament. On Saturday morning at the Boyle Heights Beat, a student-run journalism operation, the hot topic was the college entrance cheating scandal and how . Coaches in other towns dont have to take a test on NJSIAA rules, he said. Find NJ.com on Facebook. All rights reserved. Once in the mainland United States, Ortiz slept on piles of laundry and cold floors, while Rodriguez lived with a stranger who openly used drugs. We had faith. I am sure we can agree that getting our kids back to school and focused on their studies, their friendships and their future's is the important goal, and we look forward to doing just that.". Griles, he said, even bragged that he had contacts on the coaching staff at Rutgers, and that a Division 1 scholarship could be his if he came to Paterson. Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez. The ongoing drama tied to this upscale Upstate neighborhood which was first reported by this news outlet a week ago has been dominating discussions in the greater Greenville, S.C. area. Got a tip for a story? Ortiz found himself leaving practice many nights in tears, wondering why this coach brought him to New Jersey if he didn't let him step onto the court. But even after winning the MVP at a holiday tournament, Griles ignored him. The punishments imposed against Cooper and the others stemmed from an investigation conducted by a. For Andrea and fellow Boyle Heights Beat reporters, news of the $25-million college entrance racketeering scandal hit like a gut punch. Our sources also tell us not all of the sex acts currently under the law enforcement microscope were necessarily consensual which would be criminal under any circumstances. Teachers told KIRO 7 Eastside Catholic has buses that bring students who live far away to Eastside Catholic to play football -- with tuition paid for through the Independent School Association. How the administrative changes were executed and the timing was a mistake and our community has spoken. In an interview, Ugboaja said officials at Evelyn Mack demanded money for room and board for Ejiofor and he refused. Camden was leading Eastside 30-17. We have already announced all these changes to our community and they are overwhelmingly supportive of moving forward. 2 Morristown, 45-40, the No. *NJSIAA slams Eastside with unprecedented penalties. Staff Login. We are not taking away any of the prior successes they have had this year, but we want them to know their actions have consequences.That said, even though we will be making this a growth opportunity for our students, we will also continue to contest the unfounded allegations being investigated by the NJSIAA. Calendar & Category Legend: Eastside High School. The school board terminated two Eastside High School basketball coaches and the school's athletics supervisor on Wednesday night as a result of an investigation into the school's use of foreign players on its team. The students involved have been disciplined according to the student code of conduct. We are disappointed that these students engaged in this inappropriate behavior. I used to play against them and perform good. The promises were the same he made Rodriguez, his future teammate. We want to make sure everything is done properly, Castillo said. Aquino, now 18, also has blossomed on the court and will debut this month in ESPN's national Top 10 player rankings for the Class of 2018, according to Dan Olson, a girls basketball recruiting analyst. Phone 770-784-2920 | Fax 770-784-2918. Head coaches and assistants in all sports had to take the exam, which also included questions about the city school districts policies and procedures, officials said. According to that action , Brian Gem Garrison - a former adjunct tennis coach at Eastside High School in Taylors, S.C. - was protected in allegedly predatory activities by the school's . Similarly, it is unclear whether the USSS investigation into Thornblade is tied to the alleged credit card fraud or some of the more illicit, sexually charged allegations. Andrea says her father paints houses and does construction work, and during the week, her mother works a graveyard janitorial job on the Westside. If you have difficulty accessing information on our website due to a disability, contact Ms. Green, Director of Operations, at mgreen@www.metscharterschool.org or (201) 526-8500 ext. "She's a mature, strong kid and she's hanging in there," Vanderbilt head coach Stephanie Smith said earlier this year. Both the Paterson Eastside High boys and girls basketball teams have seen an influx of international players enter their programs, raising concerns over immigration statuses. One student, Bravo junior Andy Garcia, hadnt said much during the discussion. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. For most of the kids working at the Beat, getting accepted to college is only the first hurdle. Anthony McGilcrist, who last year served as athletics coordinator at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, started working at Eastside September 1 at a salary of $98,701, according to district . We have now invited the administrators and faculty to rejoin us on the first day of school. In the last week, these students have looked across the divide at youngsters their own age who live in an alternate universe of abundance and entitlement. Former Supreme Court justice was paid$900 each time he traveled from South Jersey to the Passaic County school. Capers, who said he coaches football at Irvington High School in Essex County, asserted that Paterson is now being held to a higher standard than are other districts. The female student is then placed behind a gate and the first male student states, "Justice is served." Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Meanwhile, the adults linked to Aquino -- Ayala, Lyde, Sparks founder Shane Gerald and Sparks coach Keith Gilchrist -- have not responded to numerous phone calls and text messages asking about the player. "Felix had problems in his household, and after that, that girl went from place to place," said a coach familiar with the events in Aquino's life that fall. Those tests were part of a 50-step corrective action plan implemented by Paterson Public Schools in the aftermath of the scandal that resulted in Eastsides basketball teams being banned from this years state tournament as well as the dismissals and suspensions of several athletic department staff members. In a practice last week with the Vaqueros, Selwyn finished every drill with a flourish. Fired coach wonders: How did I become guardian for 7-foot Nigerian player? Her stay with Ayala did not last long, according to coaches and the report, even though he is still listed as her guardian on school documents. She applied to Yale in 2017 and paid an . According to our sources, Mathews was grilled for more than three hours by investigators. Father Heric was appointed to be interim president after the previous president, John Kennedy, resigned over the summer. Donald Trump Teases Delay Of 2020 Election, Internet Goes Bonkers, SC Teen Honor Student Falsely Accused Of Attempted Murder In Mall Shooting, Lawsuit Says, SC Vocational Rehab Scandal: Report Issued, Clemson Universitys Office Of Planned Giving Is Living In An Alternative Reality Right Now, South Carolina Insurance Fraud Sting: 18 Charged, LIVE FEED Murdaugh Murders Trial: Day Twenty-Seven, South Carolina Freedom Caucus Files Lawsuit, Murdaugh Murders Trial: Attorney General Stands And Delivers. All four ended up in Paterson, playing for the powerhouse teams at Eastside High School, . Blessing Ejiofor (left) and Andrea Aquino pose in a picture posted to Twitter in November 2015. But who would look at a student of privilege and wonder the same thing? *The (many!) And at 6-foot-5, Ejiofor led Eastside to a pair of Passaic County championships, earning scholarship offers from Duke, LSU, Syracuse, Rutgers and several others. But over here, you're like a god.". Thats not their job. The task force . Now, the state wants answers as the district takes action. Maybe that will ease his regrets. 2022-2023 School Year Calendar. supports HTML5 video. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. All four ended up in Paterson, playing for the powerhouse teams at Eastside High School, now the focus of multiple state and local investigations after a series of NJ Advance Media reports. Seattle Times staff reporter A Seattle high school teacher is accused of repeatedly having sex with a 16-year-old student, who reported their encounters to school officials and police last. North 1, Group 4: Eastside. The board of trustees met Thursday evening to discuss the possibility of offering the principals their jobs back and rehiring the teachers who resigned. It's still unclear what sparked the altercation. That meeting took place almost one year to the day after the Paterson Board of Education approved disciplinary action against five employees including the termination of Eastsides athletics supervisor, Gregory Cooper; the removal of the head coach of the boys team, Juan Griles; and the suspension of the head coach of the girls squad, Ray Lyde Jr. I think Paterson is ready to move on, said Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, a former football and baseball coach at Eastside, who now coaches Hackensack High School's football team. They had SAT preps and the older girl was a senior in high school, and theyd use her old tests to study, and they would hire private tutors for them.. Days after a report detailed that six overseas basketball players were living with a coach, a number of pressing issues remained. Selwyn Rodriguez never imagined a basketball journey that included meeting reporters in front of a giantbottle of seasoning salt. Any charity interested in applying for Eastside's 2023-2024 Spirit Week can apply by filling out the application and submitting no later than March 24, 2023. According to videos shared on social media, a male student can be seen escorting a female student with hands behind her back. Additionally, our news outlet has been sharply critical in the past of law enforcement investigations conducted into allegedly lewd and lascivious conduct. In April 2015, the teenager moved to New Jersey, using a visa issued for a New York-based private school, the document said. CLICK HERE. The school will be known as Eastside High School effective the 2022-2023 school year, which begins in the fall, following a vote during Tuesday evening's board of education meeting. In the meantime, a disclaimer as we have been investigating these reports, we have been cautioned (repeatedly) that controversial behavior is not necessarily the same as criminal behavior. He has also written three novels and two column collections. He asked to play with the junior varsity just to prove he belonged. NJSIAA slams Eastside with unprecedented penalties, N.J. lawmakers take steps to halt phony transcripts like ones used at Eastside, Homeland Security joins probe, with eye on international pipeline, State athletics group orders hearing into Eastside, Ugly accusations tearthrough highest levels of school, State criminal investigators launch probe into Eastside, District busted budget on$90k Wallace report, NJSIAA announces new hearings to deal with Eastside fallout. And that consensual sex acts between individuals of consenting age are, well, consensual.. "I ended up in Jersey.". 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Father Heric remains our chaplain and community liaison. Griles, who played professionally in Puerto Rico and owned businesses there, told the family Rodriguez would get to face Towns, who played scholastically at St. Joseph's in Metuchen, and prove he was better. "She didn't know any English, so I just kind of guided her through that," Fontan said. "I'm willing to go as far as I have to. 3 Ghosts (24-5 . I think things like this happen all the time.. ", Said Edwin Rodriguez: "(Griles) basically put my sons' lives at risk putting them in this house with this drug addict. Paterson Eastside High School basketball ban upheld by state commissioner, Paterson names new coach for Eastside girls basketball team, Michael Baker named boys basketball coach as Eastside looks to rebound from scandal, Paterson picks new AD to replace one fired in Eastside hoops scandal, Lawyer says Paterson Eastside coach victim of fake news in hoops scandal, Paterson's Eastside loses appeal of ban from state basketball tourney, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. PATERSON As a result of the basketball recruiting scandal that rocked Eastside High School in 2017, more than 100 Paterson sports coaches this year were required to pass a test . PATERSON - Basketball players who transferred to Paterson's Eastside High School from Nigeria and Puerto Rico went through a different school registration process than did other students,. Read more: http://nj-ne.ws/lHtJWSq. Editor's note: The following story contains profane language and disturbing content. What if she owed money to drug dealers? Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. Gregory Cooper, the Eastside athletic director cut loose, says he was an 'easy target' and made a scapegoat. State Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) called on Attorney General Christopher Porrino to investigate Paterson Eastside. Our current administrative structure has been undergoing some review and change. According to our sources, members of this secret club would pay an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 a month to enjoy its amenities including youthful sex partners provided from nearby high schools. "We just needed one college scout to come and visit him, but nobody ever came. The video recording was sent via Snapchat to a lot of their buddies at Eastside Catholic and other Eastside high schools. *Fired coach wonders: How did I become guardian for 7-foot Nigerian player? Griles, he said, promised to handle the rest, leaving Edwin to assume his boys would be safe and comfortable. A second male student then appears on screen and states, "Remember, *explicit removed* the Mexicans. There are also blackmail allegations linked to the rumored prostitution/ sex ring. The connection was facilitated by Henry Ugboaja, the director of a prominent camp in Nigeria. And he regrets others who followed him encountered similar problems. Thanks To Our Sponsors. Griles had taken the role of legal guardian for most of those players, the schools subsequent investigation found. Justice Wallace interviewed 29 people for his report -- 28 Patersonemployees and 1 current player. 2023 www.northjersey.com. Over the weekend, Shafer reached out to Mayor Andre Sayegh and Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale and was put in contact with . A basketball powerhouse is under fire after packing its roster from overseas, leaving players to live with their coach. Lyde, in an interviewbefore his team's season was suspended, refuted Ugboaja's story and denied any wrongdoing. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com). The game was held at Cherry Hill East High School, a neutral site for both teams. She lacked spending money, health insurance, winter supplies and even women's sanitary items, the report and other sources said. We had hope," said Selwyn's older brother, Esteban, who joined him in Paterson at their father's insistence. By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. Eastside had been one of the favorites to win both county and state titles. Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. She filed for medical leave in spring 2017 and has been on paid leave since then. CHERRY HILL, New Jersey (WPVI) -- An altercation broke out Thursday night in the middle of a high school basketball game in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I constantly see how students with amazing GPAs and stats, and amazing stories and extracurriculars are not going to the colleges they should have earned. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? The fight happened Thursday night between Camden High School and Camden Eastside High School. Olson, the recruiting analyst, said he watched Aquino play twice in January and marveled over her agility for a player of her size. Thirteen faculty members quit in protest, most of them teachers. The districts investigation last year had found that some players involved in the scandal had registered at Eastside, rather than through traditional channels. Two years later, a newspaper named him West Virginia's Player of the Year -- his father proudly holds up the story for all to see. Those fortunes changed when a man in her neighborhood snapped photos of Aquino and sent them to the Paraguay Basketball Federation, which invited herto train alongside the country's finest players in the nation's capital. Ejiofor, now 18 after graduating from Eastside 10 months ago, didn't know it then, but she violated immigration laws when she entered Eastside, which is not authorized to issue I-20s. ", Selwyn Rodriguez during practice with Vaqueros de Bayamon in Puerto Rico. I found out in late June of this year that my wife, Jennifer Mathews, had engaged in multiple extramarital activities, Mathews said in the statement. She had left Nigeria to play basketball and study at Evelyn Mack Academy in Charlotte, determined to earn a scholarship to an American college. She said she had secured a student visa and Form I-20, which had been signed by officials at the North Carolina school. These financial allegations have since receivedmainstream media coveragecourtesy ofThe Greenville News. On Tuesday, New Jersey's governing body for high school sports levied an unprecedented level of sanctions against the Eastside boys and girls basketball programs, including a two-year state. Selwyn tore his ACL in his very first game at Eastside. During the meeting the other co-chair resigned and the board of trustees removed Father William Heric as the interim president.

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