More than 200 Jamesville-DeWitt community residents, students and former players attended the March 16 meeting of the J-D Board of Education to show their support of Bob McKenney, the varsity boys’ basketball coach who is reportedly being forced to leave his position.

Mark Schulman, president of the board of education, made a statement in the beginning of the meeting, which was moved to the high school auditorium because of the expected large turnout, that the board would take comments from the public, but would not make any decisions regarding the boys’ basketball program that night.

“It is our understanding many of you here are here tonight to share information with the board about the boys basketball program,” Schulman said. “For those of you who came expecting more information from the district, please know that we cannot discuss or answer any questions concerning to specific personnel matters. The board will not be taking any action tonight regarding the boys basketball program.”

Last week, it was reported that McKenney was being forced to resign from his position as varsity basketball coach, a position he’s held for more than 20 years, due to circumstances surrounding the suspension of varsity player Dom DeRegis for the March 8 Sectional Class A game between J-D and Christian Brothers Academy, which J-D lost 69-46.

On Wednesday, March 11, Superintendent Alice Kendrick made two statements, neither of which supported those reports.

“With the completion of the varsity boys’ basketball season, the program is under review,” said Kendrick’s second statement. “Any issues concerning the leadership of the program are unrelated to any circumstances surrounding the final sectional championship game, any individual player or the team as a whole. No decisions have been finalized concerning the future of the program.”

Since then, a large portion of the J-D community has mobilized to support McKenney. A change.org petition in support of the coach was created last week and has gathered nearly 1,700 signatures as of press time.

At the March 16 school board meeting, more than 20 people — community members, colleagues, friends, players and former players — took the opportunity to share stories and positive experiences they have had with McKenney not just as a coach but also as a person.

McKenney did not attend the meeting.

“I’m here to talk about my favorite coach, who is Coach McKenney,” said Brandon Triche, a former player of McKenney and an alumni of Syracuse University basketball. “When you think of a coach, you think of the x’s and o’s and maybe the fundamental things that happen on the court, but for me, it’s about off the court. I think the legacy he built at J-D would be tarnished if he were to leave.”

Many of the community comments told of the great deal of time, effort and discipline McKenney has brought to both the basketball program and the school district.

Celeste Torres, a resident of DeWitt who said she moved her family to the J-D school district from the Bronx to get a better education, said McKenney has been essential in making her family feel welcome in the district.

“We’re not financially stable, but Bob [McKenney] embraced us with open arms,” Torres said. “He didn’t care when we couldn’t afford the basketball clinics. He said ‘No, you come, it’s not about the money.’ … He has taught my children how to strive for the better.”

Brian Cieplicki, a current player on the boys’ varsity team, took to the mic to show his support for his coach.

“There’s been some times I’ve been a bit frustrated with the program, but never has there been an instance where I doubted coach McKenney’s intentions and his character and the fact that he loves every single player on the team equally,” Cieplicki said. “He would do pretty much anything possible to go out of his way to help any of us.”

The community comment time lasted 90 minutes, during which members voiced their hopes to the school’s administration that they would make an informed decision regarding the future of the boys’ basketball program.

The board offered no indication of when a decision regarding McKenney’s future will be made.

In his two decades at J-D, McKenney’s teams won 378 games and lost just 78, for a win percentage of .811. Counting 145 games won at Milton High School in Vermont, McKenney has 523 career coaching wins overall.

Five times, McKenney’s Red Rams went all the way to the state Class A championship in Glens Falls, doing so first with an undefeated (29-0) team in 2004, and then again for four consecutive years (tying a New York State Public High School Athletic Association record) from 2008 to 2011 with the likes of Triche, Coleman, Cavanaugh and Alshwan Hymes in feature roles.

J-D also have won eight sectional titles in McKenney’s tenure, and even though the Red Rams couldn’t quite match that dynastic success in recent years, it still reached the Section III final each of the last two seasons, falling to Bishop Ludden in 2014 and CBA this winter.

Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].