In a lawsuit perhaps worthy of a book, the former head football coach at Somerville High School (N.J.) has sued the local Board of Education and other school officials in state court alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his position in a vast conspiracy.
One person who is no longer a defendant in the case, however, is the school’s current football coach, Jeffrey Vanderbeek, the former owner of the New Jersey Devils hockey team. Plaintiff Christopher Casamento, along with wife Patricia, voluntarily dismissed Vanderbeek in a motion that was granted by the court on Jan. 12, but not before implying in the original lawsuit that Vanderbeek bought the plaintiff’s position, enlisting the defendants to have Casamento fired.
Remaining as defendants in the litigation are the Somerville Board of Education, former Superintendent Timothy Purnell, Somerville High School Principal Gerard Foley, and Athletic Director Kyle Franey.
Casamento, who claims that he was wrongfully terminated from his coaching and other positions in June 2016, alleges that the defendants “engaged in a conspiracy,” subjecting him to “an intolerable, abusive, and hostile work environment.”
Casamento had a relatively successful high school coaching career before taking over the [delete] Somerville High School’s football program, which had fallen on hard times, according to the lawsuit. The previous coach had gone 2-18 in his two seasons at Somerville.
Casamento claimed that he was promised by the previous AD that he would be given four years to turn the program around. He was paid a salary of $87,729 during the 2014-2015 school year.
In October 2014, Franey was hired to replace the previous athletic director. Shortly thereafter, Casamento claimed, Franey tried to replace Casamento’s assistant coaches as well as seeking to overrule the plaintiff’s efforts to expel two football players from the team, who tested positive for drug use. Rather than support Casamento, Franey allegedly told Casamento that “he did not know how to handle African-American athletes.”
Oddly, the lawsuit points to a subsequent incident in which Franey told Casamento that he was working on something “big” for the school district, without elaborating, and that if he told anyone, “he would lose his job.”
Casamento learned in January 2015 that the Board of Education was hiring Vanderbeek as his “co-head coach.”
The lawsuit alleges that Vanderbeek positioned himself for the position by donating funds in 2010 for the installation of an artificial turf playing surface at one of the high school’s facilities and renaming it “Gus Vanderbeek Athletic Complex” for Vanderbeek’s father.
The plaintiffs also alleged that Vanderbeek showered Franey with gifts, both before and after he was hired, providing such things “as tickets to Devils games and access to Vanderbeek’s suite at the Prudential Center.”
In addition, they claimed Vanderbeek flew Franey to Florida for a NASCAR race, and “helicoptered him to the Poconos to test drive cars and to New York City to watch wrestling.”
After learning of Franey’s “unethical conduct,” Casamento went to Foley, who took no action, according to the lawsuit. Instead, Foley allegedly began taking away Casamento’s other part-time positions. Ultimately, he was terminated from his head coaching position.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that they suffered economic damages because Casamento was unable to apply for other coaching positions. They also claimed that Casamento suffered mental and emotional distress. They are seeking compensation for lost wages, benefits, insurance and pension coverage and any other fringe benefits of his employment.
