Brunswick fires football coach, cancels rest of season in wake of hazing investigation

The Brunswick School Department has canceled the rest of the high school football team’s season and fired longtime coach Dan Cooper in the wake of its investigation into alleged hazing at a preseason team retreat.

Superintendent Phil Potenziano made the announcement in a letter to the community on Wednesday afternoon. He cited safety concerns about the number of players the football team would have available in his decision to cancel future games.

“I am writing with some regrettable news about our football season. I wanted first to inform you that Daniel Cooper is no longer affiliated with our athletic department,” Potenziano wrote. “His departure, the removal of some players from the team, and the number of ineligible or injured players on the team have caused the administration and I to seriously evaluate our ability to safely field a team for the remainder of the season. After very careful deliberation, we have concluded that we cannot safely field a team and continue playing contests for the remaining three games of the season.”

The incident took place at a preseason overnight team retreat Aug. 16-17 at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick.

Read more: https://www.pressherald.com/2021/10/06/brunswick-high-fires-coach-cancels-rest-of-football-season-in-wake-of-hazing-incident/
(Portland Press Herald)