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COACH QUITS: Basketball controversy at high
school
Mar 9, 2006
After the first eight minutes, the teams were tied. During the
next three quarters, the Ridgefield High boys basketball team lost
the game, its berth in the state tournament and, now, its head
coach.
Ray Bielizna resigned Tuesday morning amid allegations
that he purposely didn�t use his best players for much of the final
regular-season game against Bassick-Bridgeport on Feb. 22. The 73-51
loss had positive implications for the Tigers, dropping them from
the state tournament�s toughest bracket, Division I, into the less
competitive Division II.
If Ridgefield had won the game it would
have remained in Division I and Bassick, ironically, would have been
in Division II. The Ridgefield loss elevated Bassick into Division I
� a loss to Ridgefield would have kept Bassick in Division
II.
Mr. Bielizna, who didn�t return several phone calls for this
story, has been quoted in other published reports as saying he was
aware of the post-season benefits from a loss to Bassick but that he
didn�t act on them. He said his goal was merely to rest his top
players, some of whom were suffering from nagging injuries, for both
the conference and state tournaments and to give younger team
members playing time.
Acting on information provided from what
they described as a reliable source, officials from the Connecticut
Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the state�s governing sports
body, called Ridgefield High Principal Dr. Dianna Lindsay last
Friday morning and asked her to investigate the matter. Mike Savage,
an executive director with the CIAC, said Dr. Lindsay called him
back within a few hours to confirm the claim that Ridgefield didn�t
try its hardest to win the Bassick game. Mr. Savage would not
comment when asked if Dr. Lindsay told him that Mr. Bielizna
had admitted to her that he wanted to lose to Bassick.
Mr. Savage
said that Dr. Lindsay�s initial suggestion was to let the Ridgefield
team play in Division II but suspend Mr. Bielizna for one game. When
CIAC officials rejected that proposal as being too lenient, the two
sides agreed to withdraw Ridgefield from the state
tournament.
The Tigers were scheduled to play Career Magnet of
New Haven in a first-round Division II game Tuesday night at home.
Career Magnet was awarded a forfeit victory and automatically
advanced to the second round.
Mr. Bielizna gave his resignation
letter to Ridgefield school officials on Tuesday morning. He will
continue as a math teacher at the high school.
Team
reaction
Members of the Ridgefield High team, many
of whom found out about the decision while at a school dance Friday
night, said they were stunned.
�Disappointment and shock,� was
how Joe Wolff, one of the team�s six seniors described his reaction.
�We�ve had a great season � the team won 14 of 20 regular-season
games before losing in the FCIAC quarterfinals � and now we don�t
get a chance to play in States. It doesn�t seem fair to any of
us.�
Mr. Wolff said the players were aware a defeat to Bassick
would drop them to Division II � an assistant coach had told them �
but that they didn�t play to lose.
�That�s ridiculous,� he said.
�The guys who were on the floor were trying their hardest. There is
no way anyone can say we weren�t trying to win that game.�
After
going most of the season with seven regulars, the Tigers played four
seldom-used players and one who had not seen any varsity action
against Bassick. That irregular substitution pattern caught the eye
of several FCIAC coaches, who reported their concerns to the
conference�s executive secretary, John Kuczo. Mr. Kuczo then called
Mr. Savage to voice his concerns.
�We felt there was enough
credibility to the claims to investigate,� said Mr. Savage. �We did
not want the integrity of the state tournament to be compromised.
That�s why we called Ridgefield High School and asked them to look
into it.
�When Dr. Lindsay called us back, she verified our
concerns and we sought a solution,� added Mr. Savage. �We felt that
having the team withdraw from the state tournament was a proper
resolution.�
Dr. Lindsay did not return several phone calls for
this story. Dr. Kenneth Freeston, the superintendent of Ridgefield
schools, said Dr. Lindsay�s suggestion, that the team be allowed to
play in the state tournament without Mr. Bielizna as head coach, was
rejected by the CIAC.
�We didn�t want the team punished,� said
Dr. Freeston. �But the state thought taking them out of the
tournament was the best way to approach it.�
�This was a serious
matter, and we admire the quick response from the Ridgefield
principal, superintendent and athletic director (Rod Mergardt),�
said Mr. Savage. �We�re satisfied with the way they handled
things.�
Tournament format
The
state basketball tournament was altered before the 2003-04 season.
Rather than group teams based on school enrollment, the format was
redesigned based on a point system, with the aim to place all the
state�s top teams in one division regardless of school size. Under
this scenario, Division I is considered the state�s toughest, with
the next three divisions dropping off in quality. Teams must win 40%
of their games to make the state tournament.
Mr. Savage said the
CIAC and the boys basketball committee were aware that the new
system had an inherent design flaw: Teams could lose on purpose to
move down to a weaker division.
�It�s something we talked about
and hoped wouldn�t happen,� he said. �Now, after this, I�m sure
there will be discussion about ways to change the tournament again.
We can oversee a lot of things, but we can�t legislate ethics.�
� Copyright by Hersam Acorn
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