Charges against Coach Richard Foy have transitioned into a deferred prosecution agreement with final adjudication scheduled for December, 2020. As we understand it, this is the first time in county history that a school administrator subject to a deferred prosecution agreement has not been reinstated. This is unfair to both Coach Foy and the many students and athletes who would benefit from his presence.

We know that the school board and legal system has two objectives. The first is to appropriately punish an offender found guilty of a crime. Coach Foy has not been found guilty and, barring another incident, charges will be dropped at the expiration of the prosecution agreement. The second objective is to protect the citizens who might otherwise fall victim to subsequent incidents. In the case of Coach Foy, prior to this incident, his nearly 30 year career had been without incident; this suggests the risk of another incident is extremely low. Lost in this though are the countless young adults who have been positively impacted by the influence of Coach Foy. His suspension doesn’t protect the next victim (it is unlikely there would be any); rather, it punishes the next wave of young adults who would benefit from his influence. Put another way, while a suspension may protect the next hypothetical victim, this is at the expense of lowering the protections for the known stakeholder base of young adults who would benefit from his presence. The school board should err on protecting the students we know, not the hypothetical students we don't.

As a community, we know that New Hanover County Schools is currently working through a number of egregious circumstances with claims against other teachers. The timing of Coach Foy’s incident is unfortunate as these other issues have undoubtedly influenced the decisions made in the case of Coach Foy. That said, the board has an obligation to Coach Foy and to the community to adjudicate his circumstance independent of these other influences. It is our hope that, if the Board can do this, they will see that Coach Foy’s suspension does not actually serve it’s intended purpose. Moreover, it may even create more significant unintended consequences for the students and ball players who would no longer have access to this important role model in their lives. His suspension is not protecting them.

For these reasons and more, please consider the immediate reinstatement of Coach Foy at New Hanover High.