Rick Rosinski rescinds resignation as Green Bay Preble boys basketball coach

“We elected to allow a few rogue parents that are disgruntled about how Coach Rosinski was handling the basketball program, force him to make an emotional decision and resign. Folks in this room were part of that meeting. I would advocate for the Board to examine how things were handled. You have a hall of fame coach that does nothing but advocate for the players, the students of the school. We are forcing him out because of a handful of disgruntled parents.

“The board needs to hold the people in the administration who handled this accountable. I’m hearing the Board may not be able to bring Coach back, that it might be out of their purview, but you can hold the people in this room and the people in this administration accountable for the decisions they made in forcing Coach Rosinski to leave. My son is at a disadvantage tomorrow because Coach Rosinski is not the basketball coach.”

Longtime assistant coach Jim Hayes, who has worked under Rosinski during 20 years at East and three years at Preble, also spoke.

He told the board that Rosinski is everything good about high school sports.

“The people who have been harassing him for the last two years are what is disgusting and what’s terrible about high school sports,” Hayes said. “By basically forcing Rick to resign, you’ve rewarded the actions of these rogue parents and took away something that Rick lives for. I’ve known Rick since he was 13 years old. He’s a great person. He is a great father. He is a great coach. More than anything else, he is a great mentor and role model to the boys at Preble High School, and before that to the boys at East High School.

“It literally makes me ill that Rick is being forced to give up his job. ...

“Rick has coached in this district as a head varsity coach for 23 years, and this is how he’s being thanked? By being forced out by a group of parents who are vengeful, and I want to even say, hateful toward him. They have harassed him for two years, and our athletic director was well-aware of this and really did nothing to support him. The last two months have been hell on Rick Rosinski. He has hardly been able to sleep. Hardly been able to eat. This is the result of this. These parents acting this way, and now they are being rewarded by their terrible conduct. All we ever wanted to do was coach basketball.”

Mathew Dornbush, who is the dean of the Cofrin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was the final person to speak to the board.

His son, Will, was one of the Hornets’ best players this season as a junior.

“While I’m incredibly upset about this situation, as is my son, I think it’s also a significant risk for the district,” Dornbush said. “To think about what it looks like to our community, when there is no show of support or backing for these sorts of individuals. It sends a very, very negative message to the community."

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Rick Rosinski rescinds resignation as Preble boys basketball coach