Players, Parents & Alumni Demand Tribou's Return

Dozens of people turned out at Tuesday night's Chappaqua school board meeting to support longtime football coach Bill Tribou, for about two weeks for a reason not made public.

In a packed room at Greeley, the most visible sign of this support came from dozens of football players, who formed a line behind the school board's table and around to the podium. Many of them wore athletic T-shirts sporting the school's trademark blue and orange colors.

Speaking for his teammates, Jamie Nottingham described Tribou as pivotal to the program, as a selfless person and as someone who can help people develop.

“A major component of a team is a coach," he said. "However, as of right now, we find ourselves leaderless. Coach Tribou is not, as his title would imply, merely a coach. He is both the architect and foundation of the Horace Greeley football program.”

Nottingham warned that this time of the year, which includes morning workouts and spring practice, cannot be disrupted.

“At this crucial point and the 12-month cycle that is the football program, every moment spent without our leader guiding and supervising us jeopardizes our season, and for some of us looking to play at the next level, our futures.”

Addressing district officials, Nottingham argued that losing Tribou is hurting the experiences and futures of teammates.

“By depriving us of our coach, leader and mentor, you are depriving us of the season we have already worked so hard for. You are depriving us of the future that we deserve," he said. "And most importantly and horribly, you are depriving us of a hallmark experience and our journey from adolescence to adulthood.”

Some students who did not have Tribou as a football coach but knew him from elsewhere, such as his day job as gym teacher, also called for his return.

“For me, the impact he has made on my life alone has been powerful and positive," said student Lindsay Hill.

“He’s the funniest, most amazing man you’ll ever meet," said student Jackie Brett.

Parents made their own passionate shows of support.

“All I know is, there’s one person that I trust, as a teacher, as an educator, as an influence on our youth, and that’s Bill Tribou," said John Ehrlich, Greeley alumni parent. "And shame on this group, shame on this board, shame on the administration, if they ever let anything happen to him.”

“What they learned on the field and off the field from Coach Tribou were lessons about loyalty, lessons about facing your fear, lessons about courage and honor,” said Greg Kiernan, who has had several of his kids go through Greeley, including two sons who played for Tribou.

“In a system where most act to appear to be dong the right thing, Bill does the right thing, in most instances," said Jim Nottingham, Jamie's father and president of the Greeley Sports Boosters. "Others may question his methods, but the best teachers never follow the standard path. For the very nature of teaching requires one to assess each and every student as a unique individual.”

Several alumni came and rallied to Tribou's defense.

Meghan Higgins, a 1999 graduate who had Tribou when he coached the girls lacrosse team, said he has built such a great community.

“This is a wonderful place to be from and I think Tribou really had so much to do with so many people who are here now, sitting here.”

“He really helped me," said Joe Aurora, a 2000 graduate. "He helped me learn what it was to be a man, what honor was. He helped me get into college. My family, there was really nobody who went to college before I did.”

Some view Tribou as a person who could provide a different, more real world-oriented perspective on life that contrasts to what is seen as a sheltered atmosphere in Chappaqua.

“Listen, this school loves to preach about it being, you know, open minded to everything but it’s a bubble, a nice, wonderful safe bubble," said Aurora. "But he [Tribou] is something different. He opened me up to a world that I never knew or wouldn’t know was there, and reality."

“What you have here in Chappaqua – Joey referred to a bubble – is a place where political correctness is carried to the level of major religion," said Billy Marino, who has coached several sports teams in town and once led a Boy Scout troop. Marino felt that people who stand up for character in sports don't get treated well.

“The reality is very simple: Chappaqua has a long tradition of crucifying good coaches," Marino said.

Sean Higgins, Meghan's father, saw something more sinister. He believes that Tribou - a number of people think he was suspended - is gone because of "insubordination" being cited as a reason, an assertion that he does not think is fair. He thinks that it's starting to sound and smell like a "personal vendetta." Higgins got a roaring applause from the sympathetic audience.

Personnel Matters Limit What Can Be Said, Board Says

School board members tried to avoid getting into details about Tribou's situation, citing an obligation not to get into details of matters involving specific personnel.

“Please do not take that in any way other than how it’s meant," board President Alyson Kiesel told the audience at the start of public comment.

Board members stated that they cannot even discuss the process because it would inevitably lead to talk about the specifics of Tribou's case. In exchanges, several attendees grilled Kiesel and Superintendent Lyn McKay, demanding details.

“This is exceptionally difficult for us as it is for you and I understand – now stay with me for a minute – we cannot at this point talk about the process," McKay told frustrated audience members.

“The problem here is that to talk about process, we would have to talk about the individual situation that this person finds himself in,” said board member Victoria Tipp.

Responding to the requests for how the process works, Kiesel said they will speak with attorneys and see if they can have a special meeting or to put out information.

“Accuracy is important," said fellow board member Randall Katchis, who suggested consulting counsel for further legal advice about the matter.

At the close of comment, Kiesel gave her sympathy to the crowd.

“I know it’s frustrating. We are equally as frustrated," she said.

At another point in the meeting, board Vice President Jeffrey Mester noted that his kids are signed up for Tribou's summer football camp, which is run through New Castle's Recreation and Parks Department, and said he is proud of that.