Ex-Wilson coaches say they want to return next season
WILSON -- The coaches who were cleared of criminal charges in the Wilson baseball case said today they'd like to return to coaching next season, while their spokesman denounced the complaint against them as a lie.
Meanwhile, the mother of one of the former players awaiting a verdict in his hazing trial charged that the parents of the complainants, who plan a civil lawsuit against the Wilson Central School District, "put their kids on the line for cash."
"I don't find those comments worthy of a response," said Terrence M. Connors, the complainants' attorney, who reiterated he intends to file a suit by the end of the month.
The coaches, Thomas J. Baia and William M. Atlas, said during a well-attended noontime news conference that they are angry their reputations were tarnished by the State Police in what they consider an unprofessional and rushed investigation into the April 17, 2008, incident on the team bus.
Baia, who hosted the news conference in his backyard, denounced "a determined campaign by law enforcement [against me] ...
"I became the coach, the teacher, who stood by and let kids get hurt," he said. "That is a lie I will not let stand."
At the scheduled start of jury selection Monday, the prosecutor, without explanation, moved to dismiss endangering the welfare of a child charges against the two coaches, who were accused of failing to prevent the alleged torment of as many as three junior varsity players.
At first, three varsity players were charged with felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse. The Niagara County District Attorney's office eventually dropped those charges and replaced them with misdemeanors of forcible touching and hazing.
One player, now 19, pleaded guilty June 9 to child endangerment and is awaiting sentencing. The other two, now 17, went through a four-day nonjury trial that ended last Wednesday. Town Justice George R. Berger is still considering his verdict.
Baia said his own 7-year-old son was in the back of the bus with the varsity players and said his son told him he saw nothing wrong.
Court papers filed by the prosecution in the case asserted that the players formed a huddle in the aisle so the coaches, in the front of the bus, couldn't see what was happening. Baia, Atlas and assistant coach Jerry Kadryna all said today that they saw no such huddle.
Baia said even though he and Kadryna were in the front of the bus, they were turned around in their seats, facing the rear, for all but about five minutes of the ride from Niagara Falls.
Kadryna said Atlas and the other assistant coach, John Thilk, were seated across the aisle, also in the front.
Baia said not only did none of the coaches see or hear anything other than what they called the usual sounds of a high school sports team bus ride -- chanting, talking and singing -- none of the players complained to them when they arrived back in Wilson.
"A hysterical parent calls a friend in the State Police and guesses what might have happened in the back of a bus," was how Mike Paul, a spokesman for the coaches, described the start of the case.
The Wilson Board of Education is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to reinstate Baia and Atlas, who were suspended with pay after their arrests, to their teaching jobs.
Both said they'd like to resume coaching this fall, with Baia saying he'd like to coach soccer. He said it was too soon to think about whether he'd return to baseball.
Paul demanded that the State Police release the results of a continuing internal probe into how the Wilson case was handled, at least to the extent of reporting how many officers are disciplined for misconduct in the investigation. He said the names need not be revealed.
"We just want proof this will not be shoved under the rug," Paul said, adding the governor's office, the director of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services and the commander of the State Police will receive that request.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments