steubenville high school football.jpg

Steubenville High School football coach Reno Saccoccia says Ma'lik Richmond has earned a second chance with the team.

(Joshua Gunter, Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Steubenville High School football coach Reno Saccoccia has defended allowing a teen convicted of rape to rejoin the team, saying Ma'lik Richmond has earned a second chance.

"I feel that we're really not giving him a second chance," Saccoccia said in an interview with WTVR Channel 6. "Some may look at it like that. I feel he has earned a second chance. We don't deal in death sentences for juvenile activity and I just feel that he's earned a second chance.

"I've thought about it hard and I'm going with that decision," Saccoccia said.

Saccoccia made his comments as the spotlight has returned to the small city in southeastern Ohio known for its zeal for the high school football team, the Big Red. News of Richmond's return to the team has sparked strong reaction as many wonder if the culture at the school and in the community has changed.

"It was a horrible crime; it was a horrible crime," Saccoccia told WTVR. "Everything the judicial system of Ohio asked him to do, he completed.

"Everything that the school system asked him to do upon his release, he completed both academically and socially. He was back in school since January, and was suspended from all extracurricular activities for the remainder of the year."

"He's one of 55 players that are in good standing with their teammates and their coaches, who have the same opportunity as any other player."

Saccoccia came under fire during the investigation and trial of Richmond and former teammate Trent Mays. During the four-day trial in March 2013, Saccoccia's name was mentioned in texts sent by Mays just days after the incident.

"I got Reno. He took care of it and sh-- ain't gonna happen, even if they did take it to court," one text reads. Another text indicated that Reno had joked about the incident with Mays.

Saccoccia was not called to testify in the trial. An online petition seeking his dismissal was started in 2013 and has nearly 138,000 signatures. An online petition supporting Saccoccia has 741 signatures.

The coach is in the fourth year of a five-year contract. In April 2013 he received a two-year contract extension as director of administrative services, which is unrelated to his coaching contract.