She filed for medical leave in spring 2017 and has been on paid leave since then. Rodriguez left Puerto Rico in 2011, chasing the promises of a coach from New Jersey -- his own apartment, a spot on an elite high school team and a Division 1 scholarship. The now-deceased woman who owned the house, the brothers said, was a drug addict who regularly used while they were upstairs. The smell of marijuana often wafted into their room, and they feared arguments downstairs eventually would escalate. HSI agents have also reportedly been asking questions aboutBrian Gem Garrison a former adjunct tennis coach atEastside High Schoolin Taylors, S.C. who was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor last spring. In an interview, Ugboaja said officials at Evelyn Mack demanded money for room and board for Ejiofor and he refused. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Eastside Catholic later issued the following statement: "Thank you for your interest in our school. - Karen Hatch, Eastside Catholic, Marketing and Communications Director. She had sprouted to 6-foot-7 by the time she was 15, the tallest girl many in her small village had ever seen. She lacked spending money, health insurance, winter supplies and even women's sanitary items, the report and other sources said. Meanwhile, we have spoken with numerous Thornblade residents who have offered their own intimate insights into the situation. Although many Boyle Heights Beat reporters over the years have applied to USC, the programs mentors could not recall a single one getting admitted. Aquino needed to get to the U.S., where she could develop her game, earn a college scholarship and potentially play professionally. The Office of the Attorney General is reaching out to staffers at Eastside. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com), *Season's over: Eastside boys pull out of Passaic County Tournament. Gregory Cooper, the Eastside athletic director cut loose, says he was an 'easy target' and made a scapegoat. Our Upstate sources which include law enforcement officers, prosecutors, attorneys and private investigators, among others have conveyed a remarkably consistent narrative about what allegedly transpired behind the scenes in this exclusive enclave. "No one ever told me, and I wish someone did.". March 17, 2019 5 AM PT. As we exclusively reported on July 23, 2020, allegations ofserious financial irregularitiesatthe prestigiousThornblade Clubpromptedan investigationby the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) an agency with broad jurisdictional authority when it comes to cyber-enabled financial crimes.. "I am innocent and didn't know any better," Ejiofor said. Juan Griles,coach of the powerhouse boys basketball team, was among those fired by the Board of Education. Got a tip for a story? 140 Highway 142, Covington, GA 30014. These financial allegations have since receivedmainstream media coveragecourtesy ofThe Greenville News. Paterson school board President Oshin Castillo said the district has emphasized accountability among its staff members. How the administrative changes were executed and the timing was a mistake and our community has spoken. Another school board member, Emmanuel Capers, said he still believes the actions taken as a result of the news stories were excessive. * Ousted athletic director: There are others at school involved in scandal. 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. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com). The Eastside basketball scandal was exposed in news stories published in the Star-Ledger. Even the women making rice-and-beans in the back of the room stopped to snap photos. COVINGTON, Ga. - Students at Eastside High School are under fire after a social media post went viral showing discriminatory and racial remarks and actions. "On the patio, in the kitchen and we'd have to pick her up and bring her upstairs. The promises were the same he made Rodriguez, his future teammate. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Blessing Ejiofor landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in February 2014, working through a mental checklist of her new life in North Carolina. coach blew up. When the member refused to pay his monthly dues, his wife was reportedly provided with video evidence of her husbands infidelity. F: contact@email.org Get Directions. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, or NJSIAA, recruiting sanctions against Eastside stemmed from a series of stories by the Star-Ledger exposing the fact that six players from Puerto Rico and Nigeria were living at Griles Paterson condominium. In addition, the changes were announced very close to the start of the school year, which caused a lot of consternation. We heard strong opposition to the changes from both the faculty and our community. So far, there has been no official acknowledgement of the seismic, sexually charged side of this investigation by anyone in law enforcement. And she announced on social media late last month that she verbally has committed to Oregon State, a Top 10 Division 1 program. "I am the one who has missed out (on) a school.". After a series of winning seasons and strong showings in the state tournaments, Eastsides girls and boys teams finished with losing records this year. *School suspends hoops coach who had 6 overseas players living with him. He told me he was going to get it fixed, but I couldn't handle that any more. It took3teachers who risked everything tohelp the final 2 African players escape the mess at Eastside High. Andrea says her father paints houses and does construction work, and during the week, her mother works a graveyard janitorial job on the Westside. Having said all of that, there are criminal statutes on the books which protect minors in this state from being exploited and prevent adults from contributing to their delinquency. According to our sources, the Thornblade saga has elements that could potentially fall under both of these categories. *Broken promises and disposable players: The remarkable story how Eastside coaches lured foreign players. Selwyn's knee healed, but his relationship with the coach never did. According to our sources, most of the initial speculation has centered around Eastside High School in Taylors, S.C. and perhaps one other nearby school in the South Carolina government-run system. But who would look at a student of privilege and wonder the same thing? According to videos shared on social media, a male student can be seen escorting a female student with hands behind her back. We had faith. (Natalie Jordan also has been suspended by the district.) Luis says he reads up on the college application process and what his peers say about their experiences. Should they lose their jobs? A fight broke out during the Camden County Tournament championship game between Camden High School and Eastside High School. 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. *Hoops power packs roster from overseas; state questions safety of teens living with coach. So these guys got her over here and then everybody dropped the ball on her.". 2023 Cox Media Group. Again, though, we are told HSI is looking to question the deputy in connection with its investigation. The apartment was an attic in a Paterson house without heat or air conditioning, the Rodriguezes said. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In the fall of 2015, officials from her high school filed a report to the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency (formerly the Department of Youth and Family Services). Spirit Week Application SIC Call for Nominations SIC Call for Nominations That the athletic directors job.. The second of five players emerge from the home of head coach Juan Griles a day after he said only two of his Paterson Eastside basketball players are living with him at his home on E. 19th Street. Im taking three or four. Well good for you, but I dont want to die, said Olivia, who joins clubs and is on the cheer squad to make her college application more appealing. The first one, a senior named Luis, knew the name of the cheating scandals mastermind. The female student is then placed behind a gate and the first male student states, "Justice is served." Lopez is the author most recently of Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement, From Some Whove Done It and Some Who Never Will. His book The Soloist, inspired by his columns on his relationship with a Juilliard-trained homeless person, was a Los Angeles Times and New York Times best-seller, winner of the PEN USA Literary Award for Non-Fiction, and the subject of a Dream Works movie by the same name. Be permanently banned from teaching and/ or coaching? The board of trustees met Thursday evening to discuss the possibility of offering the principals their jobs back and rehiring the teachers who resigned. Christine Kelley, an adult advisor to the Beat which operates under the auspices of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism said shed been on the job eight years and had never seen students deal with more pressure. *15 questions we still want answered after taxpayer-funded special report. Justice Wallace interviewed 29 people for his report -- 28 Patersonemployees and 1 current player. Probably. It was an unfortunate ending for Ejiofor, who otherwise excelled at Eastside. More specifically, we have been informed that investigators are looking to question a former athletics coach at Eastside over his alleged proximity to some of the central figures in this unspooling drama. Classes could be delayed at a high school sports power house after more than a dozen teachers walked off the job. "I ended up in Jersey.". Coaches Juan Griles, Alberto Maldonado, and supervisor of athletics Gregory Co The NJSIAA wants to know what rules were broken before it can decide on possible punishment. The game was held at Cherry Hill East High School, a neutral site for both teams. The deputy in question is a family friend of both Rick and Jennifer Mathews (below), our sources say. Selwyn Rodriguez and Christian Ortiz started their odyssey in Puerto Rico. The school board president at the time, Chris Irving, had said Johnson was being forced to retire as punishment. Olivia Teforlack, a junior at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet who wants to go to a University of California campus, said the pressures of high school and the college admission process were overwhelming enough without having to worry about reverse discrimination for the privileged. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This sounds crazy, but if I have to fly all the way back to (New Jersey), I will.". Got something youd like to say in response to one of our articles? We just had one get into the University of Oregon, but I dont know if theyll be able to afford it, Kelley said. "This is her cry for help.". 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. The parents of an Eastside High School student accused a former tennis coach of having sexually inappropriate conversations with their teenage son on a cellphone he secretly gave the . The video recording was sent via Snapchat to a lot of their buddies at Eastside Catholic and other Eastside high schools. Some turn down out-of-state offers because their parents need them to help out at home, or because of a fear of leaving California at a time of anti-immigrant fervor and uncertainty about whether Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections will continue. A care package loaded with supplies from his mother, sent to the address in Somerset, never appeared, either. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. For example, we reported earlier this week that HSI agents have been asking questions about Brian Gem Garrison - a former adjunct tennis coach at Eastside High School in Taylors, S.C. who was . What sort of activities are the feds looking into in connection with all of this? EHS ASB. *School forged transcripts in Eastside scandal. We have already announced all these changes to our community and they are overwhelmingly supportive of moving forward. 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. In a practice last week with the Vaqueros, Selwyn finished every drill with a flourish. All rights reserved (About Us). The police investigated the incident as an alleged gang rape. "No, I'm not her legal guardian," Ayala said when reached by phone earlier this year. They already have money and they have resources, and they still had to do these things to get into college? asked Andrea, who gets up early to catch a 6 a.m. bus to school, gets home after dinnertime and still has a few hours of homework each night. 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. Officials said Johnson has been using sick days she accumulated during her career with Paterson Public Schools, which started in 1979. But there are far more serious allegations being probed by agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)s special investigations unit including the alleged activities of a group of men who apparently refer to themselves as The Disciples.. Its absurd.. Infighting, finger pointing and chaos erupted among high-ranking Paterson school district administrators as the Eastside High basketball scandal barreled out of control, according to a. We now recognize that this timing was a mistake, and we are working to rectify the impact it has had. Absolutely. All rights reserved (About Us). Eastside Catholic updated its website announcing Father William Heric, the school's chaplain, as the interim president on Thursday. COVINGTON, Ga. - Students at Eastside High School are under fire after a social media post went viral showing discriminatory and racial remarks and actions. Father Heric remains our chaplain and community liaison. Three employees fired, two others disciplined. 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. I didn't really get into her family situation or where she was staying.". Support NJ.com, Matthew Stanmyre and Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Juan Griles, the basketball coach at Eastside. 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