Moon fires its girls basketball coach
Cited cause: Not filing timely incident report
Jody Powell turned around the Moon High School girls basketball program and was guiding the Tigers to one of their best seasons in more than a decade.
But Powell was fired as coach this week with a little more than a week left in the regular season.
Powell used the words hurt, disgusted and disappointed to describe her removal. She feels it was unjust, damages her reputation and was orchestrated partly by a few parents who are upset at their daughters’ playing time.
According to Powell, Moon administrators told her Wednesday that she was fired for “failure to report an incident to administrators in a timely manner.”
Powell said the incident occurred Jan. 16 when a Moon player alleged that clothes worn by two players smelled like marijuana. The accusations came shortly before the team was to leave Moon for an away game at Thomas Jefferson.
According to Powell, she didn’t report the allegations to Moon athletic director Ron Ledbetter or any other administrator because she and her assistants investigated the matter immediately that night and did not find any truth to them. They talked to the two accused players, and they were allowed to play in the game that night when Moon beat Thomas Jefferson, 55-52.
Four days after the incident, Powell was suspended. Nine days later, she was fired. Moon has a 14-5 record and is the Post-Gazette’s No. 5 WPIAL Class 5A team. Eight times in the previous 12 seasons, Moon won six games or fewer.
“I’ve been a coach for 25 years, coached in three different states and have grown children,” Powell said. “If I thought for a minute that any kid was high or used a substance, I would’ve shut them down right there. … Those players weren’t high, and I’ll go to my grave saying that. I’ve said, how am I supposed to punish kids for allegations that aren’t true? So, the next time Suzie Q wants to play more minutes, they might accuse some players
ahead of them of something that’s not true?
“There’s no question [this firing] is not about this incident. This is about parents who wanted some control over the program. I’ve had parents talk to me about playing time for their daughter. Well, I ticked off the wrong people and now I’m suffering for it. … A couple parents went to a board member about this, got some other board members on their side and this is what happens.
“I’m not naive enough to think this stuff doesn’t happen all the time somewhere. But the depths some people go is unbelievable.”
Ledbetter said in a text message that he couldn’t comment because it is a personnel matter. Barry Balaski, superintendent of schools, also said “we never comment on personnel issues.”
Powell said Ledbetter is the one who informed her Wednesday that she would not return as coach. Powell said she met with Ledbetter, principal Dave Gallup and assistant principal Brendan Hathaway
Jan. 20. She said she was told not to talk about the situation with anyone.
Powell was adamant that she didn’t report the allegations because she and her staff did not find them to be true. She also said she thought handling it within the team would be appropriate.
“Do I feel like this is unfair?” Powell said. “Well, if you feel like I should’ve reported this right away, then give me a two- or three-game suspension, a slap on the wrist and tell me next time this has to reported. But after five years of working with this program, what are we doing here? I gave my heart and soul to this program when no one was beating down the door to coach there.”
Powell, 54, was in her fifth season as Moon’s coach. She guided Moon to a winning season last year (13-9) for only the second time in 12 seasons. Powell and her husband, Pitt football assistant coach Andre Powell, have three children. Jody Powell said her daughter Mikala, a Moon senior, quit the team last week because of what her mother is going through.
Robin Logan, mother of Moon sophomore player Olivia Logan, said Powell has the support of many parents, and Logan called Powell’s removal unjust. Logan also believes parents who are unhappy about their daughters’ playing time played a part in Powell’s removal.
“Absolutely,” Robin Logan said. “I have overheard certain parents who have bragged about knowing school board members and having personal friends on the board. I’ve witnessed them being livid that their daughter didn’t play.” Olivia Logan is not a starter. “She’s not good enough to start,” Robin Logan said. “There are one or two parents whose daughters don’t play and are upset with Coach Powell and her style. From my daughter’s perspective, she is devastated over this. My daughter and I both cried. Some other girls are devastated.
“Coach Powell is not just a coach. She’s a second mom to these girls. She’s concerned about their humanity and is more concerned about the entire person, not just how they play on the court. Moon has thrown away a great person.”
Lori Theodorsson, whose sophomore daughter, Emma, is one of Moon’s top players, said she doesn’t believe unhappy parents are behind Powell’s firing. But Lori Theodorsson also said, “The parents of the team were never addressed about the situation or her suspension. I don’t know what the protocol is, but we were never told anything. I can’t speak to the accusations, but I can attest to the fact that she’s a great coach and she’ll be greatly missed.”
Sophomore Reilly Sunday is another top Moon player who has Division I college scholarship offers. Sunday’s mother, Colleen said, “Under Jody’s leadership, the program has completely and positively turned around. The team is headed in the right direction, and this is a devastating loss to our program.”
Powell posted a message on her Facebook page Thursday night, explaining her firing and wishing her players “all the best.”
“I’ve been coaching for 25 years,” Powell said. “It’s upsetting you might be at the end of your career and this is what you have to walk away with.”