It’s the type of incident that should never happen at any high school — and it’s even more disheartening when it happens at your alma mater.
An Aug. 18 article in the Detroit Free Press detailed an alleged altercation that took place Aug. 14 at my alma mater, Notre Dame High School, a Class Double-A Catholic League school in Harper Woods, MI, an east-side Detroit suburb.
The incident allegedly included athletic director Gordie Fooks and head varsity football coach Ed Belcrest, and reportedly took place in the office of principal Fr. John Sadjak.
Belcrest allegedly assaulted Fooks after a heated dispute between the two. He reportedly hit Fooks with several punches and kneed him three times before fleeing the building.
The police were called, and Fooks went to Cottage Hospital, where he was treated for an acute closed-head injury, facial contusions, cervical strain, a nasal bone fracture, three chipped teeth and blurred vision. The Free Press reported Sadjak was harmed in the incident, but he denied the charges in the Aug. 19 Detroit News.
Belcrest, 40, was fired as Notre Dame’s coach, less than two weeks before the start of the high school football season. Assistant Kevin Nielsen will coach the team on an interim basis.
On Aug. 20, Belcrest was charged with aggravated assault, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, Harper Woods Police Detective Lt. Mike Bramos said in the Aug. 21 Detroit News. Belcrest and his attorney declined to comment on the matter.
This is not the first incident where Belcrest has reportedly stepped out of line.
The Free Press reported in June 1997, when Belcrest was head coach at Warren Mott, he was accused of punching a Notre Dame assistant coach after an argument at a passing scrimmage. The incident led to a brawl between the two teams in which a Notre Dame player suffered a broken leg.
Belcrest pled no contest to assault and battery, and was sentenced to one year’s probation. Mott did not renew his contract, and Belcrest was hired as Notre Dame’s head coach in March 1999.
The 1997 incident begs the question of why Belcrest was hired at Notre Dame in the first place. Perhaps the administration figured it was only one mistake and Belcrest deserved a second chance — particularly since he is a Notre Dame alumnus. That’s only speculation, though.
However, if the allegations at Notre Dame are proven true, then Belcrest should never be allowed to coach again, and he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He has disgraced my alma mater, and I’m sure Notre Dame’s staff, students and alumni are in disbelief about the situation.
Coaches are human. They get upset, in the heat of the moment, at what they perceive to be bad calls, and they sometimes lose their temper. However, I’ve never seen them physically attack the officials. Assaulting another person, especially when that assault is unprovoked, is crossing the line.
High school coaches are supposed to be role models for the young men and women they work with each day — period, end of discussion. If they can’t handle that responsibility, then they should choose another line of work.
Thankfully, the coaches I’ve dealt with so far in Brandon and Goodrich (and in my previous experiences in Clarkston) have been above reproach — they understand the responsibility that comes with their job.
High school sports, above all else, are supposed to teach youngsters lessons that will serve them well in adulthood. It’s sad when the coaches charged with imparting those lessons fail to put them in practice.