East Hampton coach Russell reinstated following investigation into shoving incident
East Hampton girls basketball coach Shaun Russell has been reinstated following an investigation to an incident in which Russell appeared to push one of his players on the court during a game Dec. 20.
Russell was back with the team Tuesday night for their Senior Night win over North Branford and will remain the head coach for the rest of the season, according to the school.
“The investigation of Shaun Russell has been completed and on Monday, February 13, Shaun was reinstated as Coach of the Girls’ Basketball Team at East Hampton High School after being on administrative leave since December 21. Tuesday, February 14, was his first game after his return and it coincides with Senior Night Activities for the team,” Superintendent of Schools Paul Smith said in a statement.
“The investigation included interviews with team members, parents, others who wished to go on record, and Mr. Russell. The finding of our investigation indicates that the push from the sidelines, while unwise (and for which he was disciplined), was not done maliciously.”
Russell, who is also the athletic director at East Hampton and has won over 400 games as head coach, was placed on leave while the district investigated the incident.
The incident occurred during against Valley Regional and was caught on video during a telecast of the game on Valley TV, a club and independent study program at the Deep River school. The
entire game was posted to club’s YouTube channel.
East Hampton was leading 62-38 lead. With East Hampton on offense, a player was standing in front of the team’s bench when the video shows Russell push her in an apparent attempt to direct her to a different position on the court.
The video also shows the player briefly stumbled before moving to the opposite side of the court where she caught a pass from a teammate. According to the footage and the video’s audio, there did not appear to be any reaction from the player, fans or the two commentators who did not mention the incident as they were discussing the game.
Russell was placed on leave the next day.
“Regardless of the excitement of an athletic contest, we expect our coaches to temper their behavior to represent the high ideals of the East Hampton Public Schools,” Smith said in a statement when on Jan. 4.
East Hampton is 18-1 this season and atop both the Shoreline Conference and CIAC Class S standings. They close their regular season Wednesday at 5:15 at Law before beginning the Shoreline Tournament next week.