What to Know
- A New Rochelle High School football coach has resigned amid an investigation by police over an alleged incident in the 1980s
- Louis DiRienzo was sidelined earlier in November by the district superintendent, who pulled the coach off the field and out of the classroom
- “We do have an open investigation regarding a complaint alleged to have occurred in the late 1980’s,” according to Yonkers police
A New Rochelle High School football coach who is being investigated by police over an alleged incident in the 1980s has resigned.
The City School District of New Rochelle announced Coach Louis DiRienzo was resigning Wednesday morning, with a written statement from DiRienzo.
"After much thought, I have decided to resign from my positions as head football coach and teacher at New Rochelle High School. I am proud of my students' and teams' accomplishments on and off the football field these past 28 years. I will always be rooting for the Huguenots and the New Rochelle community. I thank the community for its support over the years," he said.
Coach Louis DiRienzo was sidelined earlier in November by the district superintendent, who pulled the coach off the field and out of the classroom, to much community uproar. The reason for the reassignment was not made immediately clear, although parents told NBC New York DiRienzo helped a “distressed student leave campus with a parent,” which is a violation of district policy.
Yonkers police previously said investigators were looking into the coach’s past over an alleged complaint they received about possible misconduct.
“We do have an open investigation regarding a complaint alleged to have occurred in the late 1980’s,” according to a statement from Yonkers police. “Due to the age of the victim at the time, no other information will be released.”
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Police and school officials are not saying if the investigations each are conducting are related in any way.
Parents rallied and stood by the longtime coach, demanding he be reinstated. But the new investigation lead some to give pause and wait to see what all the facts are.
NBC New York reached out to the coach’s attorney in late November, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.