Upset About HS Basketball Coach's 'Attitude' Toward Their Son, Parents Dig Up Ancient Dirt to Get Him Fired
A high school basketball coach from Connecticut was forced out earlier this month after an R-rated film he appeared ten years ago was emailed to the administration by disgruntled parents who felt their son wasn't being treated well enough by the coach.
Mike Hvizdo, known among Weston High School students at Coach Viz, had been hired as head coach two years ago after spending two years as assistant coach at nearby Wilton High.
Sources told The Hour that an email sent to administrators at Weston by parents of a player revealed that Hvizdo once starred in a short film entitled "Forbidden Fruit."
Directed by Steve Moramarco (former assistant to Jack Black), the 9-minute black and white film reportedly contains some vulgarity and an adult theme but no nudity.
The Norwalk newspaper's sources say the parents were "upset with the way their son was being treated as a WHS basketball player," and also had concerns about a lack of playing time.
The paper itself calls the parents' dirt digging "nothing more than a blatant attack with the sole goal of getting the coach removed."
According to The Weston Forum, Hvizdo was called into a meeting with high-ranking school and district officials three weeks ago and asked to resign.
The CT Post reports that Hvizdo was ultimately fired by Superintendent Colleen Palmer for refusing to resign.
On Monday night, over 100 people crashed a Board of Eduation meeting to express support for Hvizdo and urge board members to give him his job back.
"This is the worst case of (Hvizdo) being bullied," actor Joe Pantoliano, a Wilton resident, told the board. "This is such a wonderful opportunity for this community to teach that we make mistakes. Re-instate Mike."
Hvizdo himself has said little since his controversial dismissal, but did acknowledge that it came as a shock to himself and those around him.
"People are outraged. People know the truth," he said. "The support has been phenomenal, not just from Weston. Anyone who's gotten a whiff of this story has reached out to me."
Though the administration insisted its decision was final, Hvizdo said he wanted his job back and still held out hope that he would coach again in the future.
