Molly Rottmann, Jay Leno, and Pinocchio

by Bill Gaffey                                                                                                                                                                        12/28/04
Molly Rottmann, the Pittsburgh North Catholic girl's basketball coach was suspended  by PIAA District 7, the WPIAL in June 2004 for her contact with a Pittsburgh eighth grader, April Austin, who now attends North Catholic. The PIAA upheld the suspension at a July Board of Appeal hearing. 
 
Coach Rottmann, or Mrs. Rottmann as she is now known since her law suit in federal court was decided in favor of the PIAA, claimed that she was only exercising her constitutional right of free speech.  She claimed her one-year suspension from coaching was a violation of her civil rights.  Mrs. Rottmann further claimed that her contact with 8th grader April Austin was only an effort to extol the values of a Catholic education and not to recruit her as a basketball player.   April attended  St. Bartholomew's Grade School in Penn Hills.

With a year off, Molly Rottmann should consider appearing on the Jay Leno Tonight Show with her comedy act.  Certainly she didn't expect that Federal Judge Gary L. Lancaster was going to buy her story about recruiting for a Catholic education.  During her 46 minute testimony, she said "I never felt like I was recruiting anyone, I was trying to retain them for the Catholic school system, I was never out to recruit for athletic intent, but I think a Catholic education is irreplaceable, and that was my point. It wasn't about basketball."  Now you might remember, when Pinocchio from the Carol Collodi novel told his story, his nose began to grow.   I did not attend any of the court proceeding, my information comes from a story written by Colin Dunlap in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. But, I wonder if Mrs. Rottmann covered her nose when she told her story.  Had she approached April Austin wearing wearing the "habit type" garb of a nun rather than carrying a clipboard and a whistle, we might give her testimony some credit. 

Now in no way am I downplaying the value of a Catholic education.  I attended Sacred Heart Catholic Grade School in St. Marys, Pa  for eight years.  In May of my eighth grade year, myself, Gary Pauline and Joe Petrilli let it be known that we were going to transfer schools and attend the St. Marys Public School for our ninth grade year because the Catholic High School in our town did not have football  and we decided that we wanted to play football.  Once our eighth grade teacher, Sister Stella heard this rumor she sent us directly to the parish rectory next door to face Father Henry, the pastor.  He asked us if it was true, the rumor of our transfer after our eighth grade year.  We replied that it was true.  We explained that the public school had a football team and the catholic school did not, and that we wanted to try our hand at playing football.  Father Henry, an aging Benedictine priest from the old school gave us a cold stare, and then told us in no uncertain terms, "if we transferred, we could expect in the future to go directly to Hell and that our parents could expect the same fate!"  And you thought that Notre Dame was tough on their dismissed football coach, Tyrone Willingham.

Of course you saw who was chosen by North Catholic High School to direct the basketball program during the one year suspension for Coach Molly Rottmann, they chose her father.  I wonder if father and daughter will discuss the team, opponents, and strategy during the year?  At the Christmas dinner table, did they pass the turkey or an out of bounds play?  And now that April Austin is enrolled at North  Catholic High School,  she will still be able to play during the next three years I would imagine.  So the coach sits out a year, possibly appears on the Jay Leno Tonight Show, and then returns to enjoy the fruits of her recruiting for the next three years.

(Credit: Colin Dunlap,  Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
(Bill Gaffey writes for www.pahoops.org the Pennsylvania Basketball Website)
(Thanks to John Grupp for a spelling correction jgrupp@tribweb.com)