When Central Connecticut State University's head coach of the men's soccer team threw out about 150 copies of the university's student newspaper, into the trash went a large chunk of his salary and the job of his assistant coach.
Shaun Green, head coach of the CCSU men's soccer team, recently stole and trashed roughly 150 copies of The Recorder in response to an article he didn't like. He subsequently apologized to campus security, but not to Recorder staff. According to the paper, Green's motivation for the theft was an article appearing in the issue focused on "the soccer team's disqualification from next year's postseason due to NCAA academic sanctions."
Central Connecticut State University has levied fairly substantial punishments against the soccer coaches who admitted taking part in it and the school's athletic department.
University President Jack Miller on Tuesday announced a series of disciplinary actions taken against Green, assistant coach Paul Wright and the athletic department as a whole - fallout from Green's decision to clear racks in the student center and destroy newspapers that featured a story about the soccer team's academic failures.
Wright, who accompanied Green during the incident, will not have his contract renewed when it expires on June 14. Green will return for a 28th year at Central but faces stern penalties. He will be suspended without pay for 60 days, as well as suspended for four games during the 2012 season.
As the Student Press Law Center now confirms, "CCSU President Jack Miller announced that [Green] will be suspended for 60 days without pay, suspended from coaching four games next season, is required to issue a written apology to the Recorder and financially compensate the paper for destroying the copies. The athletic department will also face a $100,000 penalty and one of Green's assistant coaches [who helped him pull off the small-time grab-and-toss] will not return next season."
In addition, Green must pay the Recorder to compensate for the loss in printing and ad revenue from the stolen papers, and a letter will be placed in his file.
CCSU president: "Make no mistake, this matter goes to the heart of our educational mission. I believe our response sends a clear signal that acts which contradicts our educational mission will bring serious consequences."
Outgoing Recorder editor-in-chief Nicholas Proch: "I'm happy with what they've done, and on behalf of my staff I can say that. They did everything that they could do, I'm assuming, inside of the university. I'm happy that they took it seriously and it wasn't just a slap on the wrist. It was a true sanction, in my opinion."
