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| Beaver River Varsity Soccer Coach Relieved of Duties by Superintendent 10/03/18 05:00pm By: Nick Altmire |
Rich Feistel has been relieved of his duties today, pending a recommendation to the school board, according to district superintendent Todd Green. The District would not elaborate with details, declining to comment further on a personnel matter. A statement from the superintendent is included at the end of this article. We first started looking into the matter late last week, after being contacted by a number of parents concerned about an alleged incident that took place on September 14th, on a bus ride home from a game at Alexandria Central School. Parents of a player at the time tell us that Coach Feistel allegedly used their son's phone to send a Snapchat, a social media app, to contacts of that student, requesting "nude pictures." "The soccer coach requested to see a student's phone. After about five minutes he gave it back. Later the student found out that while the phone was in the coach's possession he sent a message to many of his contacts requesting nude pictures," the parent told us. We are withholding their identity to protect the identity of the student involved. A parent of one of the students who received the Snapchat reportedly alerted district officials to the incident. A meeting was held with the parents of the student, the coach, the athletic director and district superintendent, according to a parent who was at the meeting. "At the meeting the coach admitted what he did and apologized for his poor judgement," that parent said. The coach was suspended for three games. The parents were unsatisfied with that decision and wanted the District to terminate the coach. Superintendent Green said that "new facts and circumstances" came to light yesterday, prompting his decision to terminate Coach Feistel. The Lewis County Sheriff's Office has confirmed they are investigating the incident, as of yesterday. We will update as additional information is received. |
