Greg Godfrey exonerated

Not guilty!

That was the verdict for Greg Godfrey on Friday afternoon in Mechanicsburg, when a panel from the PIAA board of directors overturned last month's ruling to suspend the Nazareth Academy girls' basketball coach for one year for violating the organization's rules pertaining to the recruitment of a student-athlete.

On Sept. 10, a PIAA regional (District 1 and 12) panel voted by a 4-2 vote, according to a source, to suspend Godfrey for his alleged involvement in the recruiting of a sophomore transfer from Northeast Philly neighbor St. Hubert.

"People tried to say I recruited her," Godfrey said. "I told people from Day 1 that I never recruited her. She came to Nazareth for academic reasons."

The student-athlete, whose name is being withheld by The Inquirer, was a three-sport performer who excels in basketball, at St. Hubert. She also plays soccer and lacrosse.

According to the 33-year-old Godfrey, suspicions about possible recruiting arose over the summer when the student-athlete's father was seen talking to Godfrey at a summer-league basketball game in Somerton.

Godfrey, a health and physical education teacher at Abington High, said it was only a casual conversation.

When St. Hubert did not sign off on the principal-to-principal transfer form, a hearing was scheduled by the PIAA.

In addition to the one-year suspension for Godfrey, the PIAA declared the student-athlete ineligible to compete in soccer, basketball and lacrosse for Nazareth this year. Shortly after the hearing, she was cleared by the PIAA to resume playing soccer.

On Friday, Godfrey, accompanied by his lawyer, was cleared of any wrongdoing by the PIAA. The organization also overturned the student-athlete's lacrosse suspension. Nazareth did not appeal her one-year suspension in basketball.

"We're very happy," said Danielle Wilson, Nazareth's athletic director. "Greg is a great guy. He did a lot for the girls."

St. Hubert's reaction to the reversal? "We stated our case in the first hearing, and that's it," said Bambies basketball coach Brian Kuzmick, declining to further discuss the matter. St. Hubert athletic director Pat Berry could not be reached for comment.

It was a bittersweet victory for Godfrey. Between the original ruling and the appeal they filed on his behalf, Nazareth administrators hired an interim coach. Wilson confirmed that Joe Brady, a CYO coach at St. Andrew Parish in Newtown, will guide the Pandas in 2008-09.

So, Godfrey is without a coaching job. "I think it's very unfair," Godfrey said. "If the people at Nazareth were really behind me, they would have waited until the appeal was heard."

Nazareth did drop the ball. Basketball practice, per PIAA rules, does not begin until Nov. 17. Why the rush to hire an "interim" coach?

"We brought in a new coach because we had no idea when the appeal process was going to be completed," Wilson said. "We just wanted to move forward, in a positive direction."

Godfrey's one-year suspension was overturned, but he is left on the outside looking in. Exonerated, but only in the PIAA court.

The PIAA admitted it was wrong. It's time for Nazareth to do the same thing.