Letter to the Editor About Morrisette Appointment: 'Allegations ... were not properly addressed by figures of authority.'

Dear Editor,

It has taken more than a week to digest the staged forum that took place on Tuesday Feb.10th at the Paramus Board of Ed meeting. I found it astonishing that so many individuals were not truly listening about the kids.

It was apparent that we all knew who was to be nominated, right from the beginning, and that minds were made up in spite of right and wrong. Allegations that were not properly addressed by figures of authority were attached to Mr. Morrisette and that in it-self should have deleted him from the opportunity to reapply for the job of Head Baseball Coach.

I was under the assumption that it was supposed to be an open forum, but board members were quieted when asking uncomfortable questions pertaining to the allegations. “Oh that’s right according to the superintendent there were no allegations.” I find it hard to believe that there were no other nominees of equal or more talent that perhaps had a more open minded approach toward young adults as individuals.

It truly frightened me that individuals on the board and in the audience were not the least bit concerned by the emotional distress of the students that had encountered repeated negative experiences with Mr. Morrisette. The board members are educated, professional individuals, and most importantly are parents and yet some of the members appeared to dismiss each young man’s interaction with a cavalier demeanor. Obviously a degree does not give one the heart and common sense to realize, the stage may have been set on the ball field, but the allegations were so much more than playing time.

I kept hearing Mr. Morrisette referred to as a “great” coach. Do we know what a “great” coach looks like? A great coach demonstrates a desire to enrich the lives of all young adults. He or she differentiates their approaches, takes the player’s talent, for they obviously had some indication of talent to make the team, and brings them to their own personal best. A “great” coach promotes a climate of tolerance and support.

Mr. Morrisette’s legacy is one of manipulation and lack of respect. A predominant point that needs to be brought to light, is that not all of these students that had these altercations with Mr. Morrisette had close knit relationships with one another. They weren’t life-long buddies, they were of different ages and backgrounds, but they all wanted to be part of the high-school baseball experience. All these students were brought together by their negative experiences with Mr. Morrisette. That was their commonality. Each of these young men didn’t fit the mold of Mr. Morrisette’s preconceived notion of what the “perfect” baseball player should appear like.

There is no such “beast” as the perfect anything in this world and to return a man to a position that influences young adults with this boxed in mentality is not saying much about the people who should be watching out for all types of children in our community.

What does this say about us as a society when there is no longer any compassion for someone else’s child? How does it go, ”Oh it didn’t happen to my child, so I guess it didn’t happen.”

Sincerely,

Ralph Fischetto

Paramus, NJ