Holy Family coach O'Connor resigns in wake of practice incident

IT HAD BECOME relatively clear in recent days that the Holy Family basketball saga was not going to end with a happily ever after. So, suspended coach John O'Connor met off-campus with his players last night and told them he was resigning.

The resignation, which O'Connor said was agreed to by him and the university, stemmed from an early-morning practice incident on Jan. 25. Holy Family sophomore Matt Kravchuk was injured during a rebounding drill when the coach grabbed a ball out of his hands. The force of O'Connor moving forward knocked Kravchuk to the ground. According to the private criminal complaint he filed, Kravchuk received a bloody nose and a scratch on his forehead and inside his lip. O'Connor then went over and nudged Kravchuk with his foot, urging him to get up. After Kravchuk got up and was speaking to an assistant coach as the drill continued, O'Connor cursed at him and, eventually, threw him out of practice.

Last night's meeting was held at 6 o'clock in the cafeteria of Our Lady of Calvary school in the Northeast and it was part of a whirlwind day for O'Connor. He appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" yesterday morning with Kravchuk and he received the news that the district attorney's office said no criminal charges would be filed.

According to O'Connor, 52, the team gave him a standing ovation when he walked into the meeting. They didn't know what he was going to say.

"I think they thought, with the charges being dropped, they were going to get me back," O'Connor said.

And when he told them he was resigning, "they were really down. It was probably the toughest moment of my life so far."

O'Connor was not happy with the outcome, but agreed that it was kind of a relief after the last week.

"No question," O'Connor said. "This thing has really turned around the last few days, the articles, this morning [on 'GMA']. Some people are never going to understand it or see my side of it, but getting my side out hopefully has given me the opportunity that I can coach again."

And he definitely wants to coach again.

"There's no question," O'Connor said, "I'm a good coach, I worked my [butt] off. If that 30 seconds ends my career, that would be very difficult."

Kravchuk's attorney, Jack S. Cohen, said last night: "I feel badly. Matt feels badly for what [the coach] he's going through. This is not . . . I'd rather not comment. I'm surprised. Initially all Matt wanted was action from the school. The school would not advise Matt of any action taken other than that action was taken and they told him to do what he had to do. So he went to the police and filed a complaint. And all of this occurred . . . if the school would have handled it initially who knows what would have occurred."

O'Connor realized pretty quickly his wanting his team to play with more passion resulted in an incident he had not intended. He apologized to Kravchuk and then to the team. When the tape of the incident was released over the weekend, it was quickly clear this was on a fast track to the end of the coach's less-than-1-year tenure at the school. Holy Family was caught up in a public-relations nightmare and it was just a question of how and when it ended. Holy Family's season ends tonight with a game at Felician College. Assistant Brian Duross was named interim coach when O'Connor was suspended last Thursday.

"Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos was a mediator yesterday morning. He got O'Connor and Kravchuk on the set together with their attorneys, John Gallagher and Cohen, respectively. Coach and player were side by side. Before they went on camera, according to Gallagher, there was no discussion between the parties, as neither the player nor his lawyer would talk to them.

It was a portent of what was to come. There was a public apology by the coach. It was not accepted by the player.

"You did feel badly enough about [the incident] to apologize to Matt and the team that evening," Stephanopoulos said to O'Connor.

"No question, no question," O'Connor said. "It was an accident. It was unintentional."

It was a coach trying to keep the drill moving who overreacted. He was trying hard to get his players to respond, be competitive and continue the drill at a fast pace and went at it so hard that his player got hurt.

"He called me into his office and apologized," Kravchuk told Stephanopoulos. "We talked for a few minutes. He said he was sorry for what he did, that he crossed the line . . . He seemed remorseful at the time, but it just didn't feel right."

Kravchuk wanted the school to take some action. O'Connor met with athletic director Sandra Michael, who went over the tape with him, explaining, in O'Connor's words, "what I would need to improve and what she felt was out of hand and what wasn't out of hand."

It is unclear what the school did or did not do because the school has only said it was conducting an investigation. Kravchuk and his parents clearly were not satisfied. Cohen was hired. A private criminal complaint against O'Connor was filled out.

"You know now what you did was over the line?" Stephanopoulos stated.

"Not really," O'Connor said. "I just feel that I was a coach and I was trying to get my team more competitive. And, in doing so, I made a mistake."

And he would like to take it back.

"I was really sorry that it happened," O'Connor said. "That 30 seconds if I could take back, I certainly would. But, unfortunately, in this world, you can't do that and, for that, I really apologize."

What do you want? Stephanopoulos asked Kravchuk.

"I just want some action taken," Kravchuk said. "I thought the university owed it to me to take some sort of action. When they didn't, I took it to the police."

What do you want to happen?

"I want some finality," Kravchuk said. "I want to understand from the school what is going to happen. They do owe me as one of their athletes, they owe me the respect to do that."

It was not clear what Kravchuk thought he was owed, as he did not specify. Perhaps, O'Connor's resignation will suffice.

"Coach, tell him what you feel," Stephanopoulos urged.

"Matt, this was an accident," O'Connor said. "I was just trying to make us a better team and make us more competitive. In doing so, an accident happened. It was unintentional by me, I'm really sorry that it happened. If I could take it back, I certainly would. But, again it was an accident and I'm really sorry that it happened."

Stephanopoulos then asked for the player's response.

"To be honest, it's kind of hard to accept your apology just because you claim it's justified, you claim you weren't crossing the line," Kravchuk said. "Also, now, I'm injured, I can't play. I can't play for you anymore. As a player, I'm supposed to be able to respect you and I don't feel I can do that anymore."

O'Connor said he thought he had really bonded with Kravchuk. Then, the incident happened.

"I was really proud of where he came as a player," O'Connor said. "I just feel it's unfortunate if I never get the chance to coach him again."

He won't be coaching Kravchuk again. He won't be coaching Holy Family again.

But O'Connor, an 18-year veteran Division I assistant coach at Villanova, Drexel, Lafayette and Georgia Tech, does have a lot of friends in the business. His contract runs through June 30. This will calm down with time. And life, probably even his coaching life, will go on.

Gallagher was asked about the coach's resignation. "You're never satisfied when your client loses his job," Gallagher said. "Hopefully, the public discussion over the last week will help John have the opportunity to coach young men in the future." *

Daily News staff writer Jan Ransom contributed to this story.