UPDATE: If you would like to donate directly to the newly established Diamond Award for Courage, Character, and Community Service, please visit the following link: Diamond Scholarship Donation. This scholarship initiative not only acknowledges the importance of addressing past injustices but also celebrates the positive contributions and values upheld by past, present, and future generations of Nyack student-athletes. Your support is greatly appreciated. 

 

*** ATTENTION: THIS IS A PLAYERS-ONLY PETITION FOR ANY/ALL FORMER NYACK BASEBALL PLAYERS; IF YOU DID NOT PLAY, WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT, BUT PLEASE DON'T SIGN HERE. THERE WILL BE A SEPARATE COMMUNITY PETITION FOR YOU TO SIGN***

We, the undersigned, are former baseball players of Nyack High School. Our graduation years span decades. We are aware of sexual abuse perpetrated by longtime Varsity Baseball Assistant Coach, and eventual Varsity Head Coach, Pete Recla. Credible accounts report this abuse occurred, at minimum, between the years 1991 and 2007. We are also aware of a credible account of abuse by Varsity Baseball Assistant Coach, and eventual Junior Varsity Head Coach, Kenny Pommerencke. Some of the undersigned are survivors of this sexual abuse. 

All of the undersigned have been trying to do what Nyack Schools taught us to do: we are sticking up for our friends, supporting the vulnerable, organizing, listening and trying to right wrongs. We are trying to heal. We ask that you, the representatives of Nyack Schools, the people and places that tried to teach us these things, support us in these efforts. You taught us well, and there should be pride in that.

We are your former Baseball players and we are no longer comfortable with the name Dave Siegriest and its association with the Baseball Field scoreboard, Memorial Tournament or Courage Award. While no one is accusing Dave Siegriest of sexual abuse, he was at best negligent. He failed to protect the kids for whom he was ultimately responsible as Head Coach of the Baseball team. He had the benefit of pattern recognition over 21 years spent by Peter Recla’s side. He neither listened to nor acted when members of the team, community or staff approached him directly with their credible and consistent concerns. Some of the undersigned are individuals who brought these concerns to Dave Siegriest. We may never fully understand why Dave Siegriest prioritized the reputation of his longtime assistant over the safety of Nyack’s players and the community’s children, but it is abundantly clear that that was the choice he made. He failed as a mandated reporter and the kids he coached suffered as a result. The broader community was made less safe.

We, the undersigned, are adults now and we are doing what Dave Siegriest did not do. We are speaking up.

With our full and collective voices, we are requesting the following:

 

• Please work with us, Clarkstown and Orangetown law enforcement and the Rockland-based Center for Safety and Change to bring Pete Recla to justice. Please support our efforts to enter him into the Sex Offender Registry and warn others in the area, as he is still a danger to the community

 

• Dave Siegriest Field be renamed promptly to Our Field 

It will be called Our Field because it belongs to us; it has been reclaimed by the players, not any one of us, but all of us, past, present and future.

It will be called Our Field as a step on the way to transforming it from a place where boys who suffered pain and abuse can be proud to return as men.

It will be called Our Field to spark discussion among future Nyack Baseball Players. They will ask, “Why is it called Our Field?” They will then be made aware of a dark period in Nyack Baseball’s history that was brought to light through collective, cross-era action and the support former Baseball teammates showed one another. School administrators and staff who were proud of their former students and their efforts, and who didn’t try to stand in their way or else wish they stayed silent, will have played an important role. It may be a small piece of keeping this from ever happening again.

We wish to mitigate the pain of the Siegriest family, as well as friends of the Siegriest family- none of this is their fault. Even the most ardent supporters of Dave Siegriest, however, should be able to understand that Nyack’s players collectively, and particularly the survivors, are deserving and we need to heal. This removes any potential controversy for taking one person’s name from the scoreboard and replacing it with another.

 

• A plaque be placed near the scoreboard with a quote that includes collaborative input from Pat D'Auria and the Nyack Schools

 

•  The Dave Siegriest Tournament be renamed prior to the start of the 2024 spring season; replacement name to be determined at a later time with collaborative input from former players and the Nyack Schools

 

• The Dave Siegriest Courage Award be renamed prior to the start of the 2024 spring season; replacement name to be determined at a later time with collaborative input from former players and the Nyack Schools

 

• While we expect these changes to be announced through official channels (e.g., at a board meeting, in a press release, etc.), the field-level unveiling of these changes will be made by a former Baseball Player, ideally a survivor, and not a school administrator, in a ceremony that includes former and current players and current coaches at a time and location TBD through coordination between the Board and former Baseball Player representatives