The ripples from a high school coach’s suspension, Eagles fans’ opinions on a new stadium, and other thoughts

Archbishop Ryan coach Mark Ostaszewski was suspended for a year for a recruiting violation. While it might have been an understandable mistake, the punishment fits the crime.

Mark Ostaszewski (left) with Archbishop Ryan athletic director Joe Zeglinski. Ostaszewski recently was suspended for a year for a recruiting violation.Read moreCourtesy of Archbishop Ryan

by Mike Sielski | Columnist

Published Aug. 23, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET

First and final thoughts …

The decision by PIAA District 12 to suspend Archbishop Ryan football coach Mark Ostaszewski for improperly recruiting a public-school athlete is the consummate example of a situation in which many things, some of which contradict each other, can be true.

Did Ostaszewski break PIAA rules? He did. He asked a student-athlete from Bensalem School District if the student would like to apply to Ryan, and, boiled down, a Philadelphia Catholic League coach cannot recruit an athlete unless the student-athlete takes certain formal steps toward showing interest in attending the coach’s school first. Ryan’s administrators are not disputing that Ostaszewski committed the violation.

Is Ostaszewski’s suspension — a year in length — too severe? No.

Why? Because Catholic League schools are allowed to recruit student-athletes, and the PIAA tolerates an inherent double standard here because public schools are not. Ryan and the other Catholic League and charter schools in District 12 already have an advantage over the district’s public members. Even if Ostaszewski made an honest mistake, he attempted to add weight to a deck that already is stacked in his school’s favor.

Is it understandable that Ostaszewski made this mistake? Yes. Athletics have become one of the primary reasons that many students attend Ryan, Roman Catholic, and the rest of the surviving Catholic League schools. Sports is a huge draw for these institutions, maybe the draw. It’s how they can stay open and, in some cases, thrive. The better the teams at a particular school, the more attractive the school becomes to prospective student-athletes. That’s a heavy burden for these coaches to bear. No one should be surprised that the envelope gets pushed.

Following up on the Linc’s future

As promised, here is some of the feedback on a couple of recent columns about the notion of the Eagles building a new, domed stadium.

From one season ticket-holder:

“I strongly want to see Eagles build a new stadium. I am agnostic to whether taxpayers should pay for it. Let’s say the city and its tax base strongly disagree with subsidizing the stadium. The Eagles could opt to build it with their own money, so you would get what you wish for, and I get what I wish for. If taxpayers don’t pay anything, the ticket prices will likely be higher. We are seeing this right now with SEPTA, people want more services but don’t want to pay more fares — it’s not feasible. Perhaps we leave taxpayers alone, but expect higher prices.

“I received the same surveys and answered them. The ticket prices were not completely outlandish. I think the Eagles used the exercise to gauge buyer appetite.”

From Carol:

“As long as people in Philadelphia live without a roof over their heads, the Eagles can play without a roof over theirs.”

From Gene:

“It would be foolish for the Eagles to have a new stadium, especially with a dome. It’s the weather that scares the crap out of the other NFL teams. How can you have a snowball fight inside a heated facility?”

Merrill is still gooooood

Shoutout to the great Merrill Reese, who is about to begin his 48th full regular season as the Eagles’ radio voice. To put his tenure, its length, and its quality in some perspective, consider this: He has been calling Eagles games longer than 17 NFL coaches have been alive.

Talk like a person, please

Heard an NFL analyst describe a quarterback as a “high-level post-snap operator,” and before artificial intelligence completely takes over our brains and our world, I’d like to make this plea to anyone who covers or works within professional football: Please, stop. Talk-ing. To the. Hu-mans. Like we are. Cy-borgs. Or. Like. You are. Ro-bots.

I’ve got a fever …

So, with Phillies fans frustrated that NBC Sports Philadelphia’s telecasts wouldn’t allow them to watch closer Jhoan Duran’s elaborate, nearly pyrotechnic entrance from the Citizens Bank Park bullpen, the network has announced that it will tweak its game presentation so fans can “experience this phenomenon live and in its entirety.”

Cool by me. But I still think Duran’s presentation could use more cowbell.