Case closed: Peters Twp. football coach cleared of any wrongdoing

PITTSBURGH,None — Peters police announced Wednesday that there is no evidence to support a claim that the head coach of the Peters Township High School football team put players with concussion symptoms back into games and practices.

"The police department has been unable to support these allegations with facts," said Peters Township Police Chief Harry Fruecht.

Earlier this week, school district Superintendent Nina Zetty called the allegations against varsity football coach Richard Piccinini "unfounded."

"The police opened the investigation because someone in Peters Township reported it to (Washington County) Children and Youth Services," which reported it to police, Zetty said. "The police did not initiate the investigation for any other reason."

Piccinini released a statement on Wednesday saying "The results of both investigations were clear in that there were no facts to support any assertion that I disregarded the health or safety of my players. I trust that this matter is now concluded, and I'm anxious to get back to the undistracted duties of coaching football at Peters Township."

Trainer for the Peters Township football team, Mark Mortland, said Piccinini created an atmosphere where players didn't feel comfortable speaking about their injuries.

"One kid in particular, he did sustain a concussion. The athlete and my trainer were pressured by the coach saying,'You don't have a concussion. You just have headaches. There is nothing wrong with you. You should be playing.' Then two weeks later he did see a concussion specialist who said, 'If you did play you could have had brain damage,'" Mortland said.

Peters Township School District officials released a statement saying, "Any injured athlete is assessed by the trainer and, if necessary, referred to their personal physician. Once released by that physician, the trainer alerts the coaches that the student is ready for play once again. "

Officials said only the trainer has the authority to allow injured players back on the field. However, Mortland said Piccinini didn't encourage the players to speak up if they were hurt.

A crowd of parents and students attended a meeting last week in which the Peters Township School Board voted 6-3 to retain Piccinini as coach. They turned out because they said the board did not thoroughly investigate claims that Piccinini had told injured players to play.

School board member Bill Merrell, one of the three who voted against retaining Piccinini, said board members discussed Mortland's allegations against Piccinini "extensively" in executive session on Jan. 18.

"We were told they had looked into it, but I wasn't privy to any investigations that were supposedly done," he said. "A third of the board voted in the minority. I would make an assumption that maybe there was some doubt."

Michele Bittel, a football player's parent, said she does not believe that Mortland, who served for 16 years as the Pittsburgh Penguins physical therapist and head athletic trainer, would say anything negative about the coach without proof.

"I have a lot of respect for Mark and feel he is a professional in his community," Bittel said. "If they trust him with Sidney Crosby, I trust him with my son."

One parent said she believes that police should have investigated further.

"I think they should have waited and done a thorough investigation," said parent Chris Miller. "I'm still concerned."

Officials said they plan on improving communication between the coaches and the trainers.

WPXI