A suburban high school athlete is reinstated after his family sued alleging retaliation when he was cut from his basketball team.
Brendan Savage’s family told NBC 5 that Hinsdale South allowed their son back on the basketball team Tuesday after the family sued the school.
“Someone looked at this and said, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s ridiculous. Get him back on the team,’” said Kevin Savage, Brendan’s father.
Brendan earned all-conference honors the past two years, but the senior guard was cut from the team this year by the new coach.
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“It certainly seems like that (someone told the new coach to cut Brendan),” said Kevin Savage. “I think this goes back to how this was mishandled a year ago.”
Last year, the Savage family filed a complaint with the school against the previous coach alleging verbal abuse and bullying. The school demoted the coach.
“It was substantiated. They did find that he was. Didn’t measure up to the high standards of the district, which doesn’t explain why he’s allowed to coach at any level,” said Erin Savage, Brendan’s mother.
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After Brendan was cut this year, his family filed a federal lawsuit saying the school violated their First Amendment rights for speaking up.
“We have a letter from the superintendent from last year stating there will be no retaliation. It won’t be tolerated. And yet there was no other explanation, particularly after we talked to the coach,” said Erin Savage.
“It’s clear that this was retaliation. The coach from last year is getting the last word on this. There’s no doubt about it, especially when you can’t give a reason,” said Kevin Savage.
NBC Chicago reached out to Hinsdale School district for an interview about this, but a spokesperson declined and said the district “does not comment on legal matters.”
“I don’t think this is resolved. You can’t do this, you can’t abuse your power as a coach and a teacher and harass, bully and retaliate against kids. That just can’t be tolerated,” said Kevin Savage. “You can’t do that and not have a consequence. It’s not fair to the kids that might be coming through Hinsdale South in the future. That coach has to be removed.”
