Former football coach Eric Kasperowicz drops lawsuit against Pine-Richland, hopes to reclaim job

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, January 21, 2022 | 4:31 PM

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Former Pine-Richland football coach Eric Kasperowicz is dropping his defamation lawsuit against the school district and its administrators in hopes of reclaiming his coaching job.

Kasperowicz in August filed a federal lawsuit against the district and several top officials claiming they damaged his reputation by publicly accusing him of knowing about hazing and bullying in the football program and failing to report it to authorities.

In a statement Friday, Kasperowicz’s attorney Joel Sansone said: “Although Coach Kasperowicz continues to maintain that the allegations made against him are untrue and unfounded, in order to eliminate any impediment to his being interviewed for that position … Coach K will forgo any claims that he has against the district and these individuals based on the failure to renew his coaching contract.”

Kasperowicz declined comment Friday.

As Pine-Richland’s coach, Kasperowicz went 85-18 in eight seasons, winning four WPIAL titles and two state championships. However, last April, the school board elected to not renew his contract following a school district investigation.

Kasperowicz worked last fall as a volunteer assistant coach at Pitt, his alma mater.

Pine-Richland hired a replacement for Kasperowicz, but coach Steve Campos resigned in December after one season with the Rams. The school district is now searching for Campos’ replacement, which could be Kasperowicz.

“The coach feels that the time is now to bring the community back together to pursue the most important goal of any school district, which is to provide a healthy, safe environment in which to educate the students of the district, including the student athletes, for whom Eric Kasperowicz has dedicated all of his efforts as coach of the football program,” Sansone said.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Pine-Richland