Community Outraged Over Proposed Removal of B-Ball Coach

Despite having the most wins in school history, the coach of the Collingswood High School basketball team says he received a letter informing him he would not be recommended for the coaching position next year.

A local community is outraged over the proposed removal of a beloved basketball coach.

Joe McLoughlin has served as the head coach of the Collingswood High School boys’ basketball team for 14 years and recently led the team to more wins than any coach in the school’s history. Yet, for a reason that has yet to be determined, McLoughlin claims he received a letter from the superintendent Tuesday informing him that he would not be recommended for the coaching position next year.

With McLoughlin's incredible success and overall support, many were shocked by the news.

Supporters of McLoughlin and the team arrived at Tuesday night’s Collingswood School Board meeting to protest the decision and defend the coach. During the meeting, they described McLoughlin as a mentor and father figure to his players. McLoughlin also serves as a special education teacher at the school.

Several parents also claimed the administration was upset the majority of his players were African-American and wanted the team to be more diverse. NBC10 questioned Collingswood Superintendent Scott Oswald about these allegations after the meeting.

“His position was threatened then all of a sudden these accusations came out of nowhere that I haven’t heard before,” said Oswald. “I still don’t have any proof. There really is nothing other than the statements that were made. Whether it was his perception of something that was said I don’t know. I just don’t have that information but certainly we’ll look into it.”

“He plays the best players,” said former player Darnell McCardo. “If you’re good, black, white, Asian, if you’re a good player he’s going to play the best player.”

NBC10 asked McLoughlin why there was a proposal for his replacement but he declined to give his opinion. Instead he released a written statement regarding the situation:

I want to continue being a boys’ basketball coach at Collingswood High School. I have always made my student athletes and special education students a priority.

The board was scheduled to vote on McLoughlin’s removal during the meeting. After a lengthy public comment portion of the meeting that was more than an hour long however, they postponed the vote. 

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