Green would not be on the practice field today if the team takes the field, French said.

“He is no longer the coach,” French said. “Tim Green is done.”

At a workshop meeting of the board Tuesday night, President Evan Dreyfuss and D’Angelo said the board was still deliberating whether to appeal Tuesday’s decision by state Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph. They were planning to meet late into the night in an executive session but still might not have a decision, D’Angelo said.

There was a lot to consider, even beyond the football team, Dreyfuss said.

“We have to consider every single sports team, what this might mean if we fight this,” he said. “We have to consider the expense. It would be expensive and time-consuming.”

And there were considerations outside the district, he said.

“We have to think about other schools involved,” Dreyfuss said. “If we keep winning and this title gets vacated, what happens to those teams?”

The resignation was the latest plot twist in the drama surrounding Skaneateles’ celebrity coach. Long before this season of great highs and lows, Green made a name as an author, an All-American player at Syracuse University, an NFL player, a lawyer, a football analyst on national television and TV-show host.

His latest accomplishment came in his backyard. A divided Skaneateles school board hired Green to take over a team in 2010 that had struggled to 1-7 records in the previous two seasons. The team went 3-5 last year.

Then it turned into a powerhouse this year, led by its star quarterback, Green’s son, Troy, and augmented by new offensive starters who began the previous year in other districts.

In the regular season, the team outscored its opponents 390-121 — an average margin of 38 points.

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Green said the Lakers practiced Tuesday afternoon without him, as he considered his options. At one point, he called for an update from offensive coordinator Joe Sindoni, who was running the practice.

Practice was scheduled to end at 7 p.m., and Green had planned to drive to Skaneateles to tell the players. Sindoni told him the practice was over, that everyone was “pretty morose” and that it was futile to continue. So Sindoni sent the players home.

Green said he told Sindoni he was still hopeful “that we’ll find a way.”

“I told the team a couple of weeks ago, I said, I think everything’s going to work out fine,” Green said. “And I said if for some reason it doesn’t, I’m going to do everything I can do to make sure that you guys play.”

French said he did not speak with anyone at Section III, which governs high school sports in the Syracuse area, to test the idea that Green’s resignation might influence the penalty. The Athletic Council has a regularly scheduled meeting Thursday.

French said Green had raised this option before.

“Tim’s suggested for a number of weeks that maybe his resignation would help solve this problem,” French said. “The problem with that is we didn’t have any access to the true problem until last Tuesday (with the release of Skaneateles’ internal report). We didn’t have any access to the report. Section III ruled on Friday and we were in court again today.”

“Honestly, if I had thought that that was what was necessary at any point and time in this debacle, I would’ve done it,” Green said.

The report compiled by the Skaneateles School District admitted to recruiting infractions committed by its coaches, though it didn’t name Green or any of his staff members.

Green said his resignation is not an admission of guilt.

“I really don’t want to get into the disagreement I have with the school because I’m rooting for the school right now,” he said. “They’re going to take this appeal to the (Appellate Division). I want them to win.”

Text of resignation letter

I hereby resign my position as Head Coach of the Skaneateles High School football team. I offer this resignation knowing that the School Board will vigorously pursue an appeal of the decision rendered by the Court and because my primary concern has and always will be the best interests of my players and fellow coaches.

It is my hope that Section III will regard my resignation as a resolution of this entire matter and will allow the forty players who, indisputably, had no role in this matter whatsoever, and who have unquestionably earned their right to be on the playing field this Saturday to participate in this weekend’s game.

Sincerely,

Tim Green

French would not elaborate on his other legal options, but he said he represents other interested parties, including players and parents. He said he’s made a commitment to them to “go as far as we can.”

Dreyfuss opened Tuesday’s meeting with a statement about the investigation, saying it started last spring with allegations that the board looked into and determined to be credible.

After a five-month investigation, the district found proof of recruiting violations that were all committed by one person, Dreyfuss said. He did not identify that person. The district’s report refers to unnamed coaches trying to recruit at least nine players from other teams last year. Dreyfuss’ comment was the first time the district revealed all the violations were committed by one coach.

The Post-Standard’s reporting turned up three players who said Green himself tried to recruit them at his summer football camp last year, offering to set them up in an apartment in Skaneateles with a large-screen TV and an Xbox.

One player, former Weedsport High School lineman Dave Chirco, agreed to have his name published. The other two spoke anonymously. Both those players agreed Green was serious about the offer of an apartment, but one of them said he thought Green was joking about the TV and Xbox.

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About 50 people attended Tuesday’s board meeting, but only one spoke when Dreyfuss opened the floor to public comments.

John Weiss, father of a football player, implored the board to appeal the judge’s decision.

"If you as a board really feel that the Section III ruling was wrong and that the judge's decision was wrong ..., then you as a board have a duty to pursue this," Weiss said.



The district chose to not name the accusers and offenders in its report on the advice of Section III, Dreyfuss said. Section officials said the investigation was about conduct and not people, Dreyfuss said.

At the meeting, Dreyfuss talked about the drain the case has caused on the board lately. He’s had a hard time running his business and seeing his family, as have other board members, he said.

“This whole dilemma has brought up morality questions, ethical questions, financial questions,” he said.

For his part, Green said his toughest calls came at the end of the day when he told his wife, Illyssa, and son, Troy.

“She said, I don’t want you to do that,” Green said. “And I said, if it gives these kids a chance to play, I’ve got to do it. And she said, well, there are no guarantees that that’s going to happen. I said, no there aren’t. She said some people are going to say it looks bad. I said that’s not what this is about. It’s not about what do I look like.”

And then he made a separate call to Troy. As Green described the call, tears filled his eyes and he excused himself from the interview.

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 470-2187.

Contact Donnie Webb at dwebb@syracuse.com or 470-2149.

More videos:

» Attorney for Section III Makes His Case For Skaneateles H.S. Football Team to End Season

» Attorney for Skaneateles Central School Makes His Case For the Football Team to Play

» Read all our coverage of the Skaneateles recruiting scandal