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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Suspended girls basketball coach Mike Toro has left Bishop Ford to become a co-coach at Medgar Evers with athletic director Keisha Lewis, he told the Courier.
Toro leaves the Falcons while still suspended as of February along with athletic directors Pete Goyco and Eileen Egan as Ford investigated possible improper financial assistance to members of the girls basketball team. The Falcons won the school’s first state Federation Class AA title this season. Toro said he would have made the switch whether he was eventually found guilty of rule-breaking or not.
“It had nothing to do with any of that,” Toro said of the investigation. “To me, I saw there was no support [for athletics] going on within the school, and me feeling like it was time to move on. I feel like it’s a better opportunity.”
Toro, refused to talk about the details of the investigation, but denied any rule breaking. He said he attempted to resign on April 25, but the school would not accept it. Bishop Ford spokesperson Eileen Long Chelales did not return phone messages.
The suspensions were handed down when the school found that money made at the Rose Classic Super Jam, of which Toro was one of the organizers, was going to be given to two current Ford players, sources told the Courier.
The Brooklyn-based Rose Classic girls basketball organization has rented Bishop Ford’s gym the last two years over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend to host its big girls basketball showcase.
League coaches, who participated in the event, were informed by the league about the potential infractions and told their checks, made out to Bishop Ford, were never cashed, according to sources.
Toro and the athletic directors continue their suspension as the school awaits word from the Brooklyn/Queens principals committee, sources said. Toro said he’s frustrated with how long the process has taken, and with the break down in communication between him and school’s administration.
“I stand by the fact that I did nothing wrong,” Toro said. “I’ve done everything according to the rules. I’ve read the league bylaws from the first word to the last word. According to the rules, based on everything I’ve done and been told since I started coaching, there is nothing that can say that I’ve done anything wrong.”
He is hoping for a fresh start at Medgar Evers. He believes there are a number of factors that can make the program successful again.
“It’s a very good academic school,” Toro said. “It’s right next door to Medgar Evers College and I just heard good things about the school.”
The Cougars will have their fourth different coaching staff in as many years. Longtime headman Barney Davis was fired in 2011 after 20 years at the school. Former South Shore assistant coach Keon Crumble took over for a year and was replaced this season by Lewis and boys coach Devon Irving, which took away from the his regular team. Lewis said she had no hesitations in hiring Toro because of the on-going investigation.
“Mike came with his entire package,” she said. “He came with a [Federation] win under his belt and we are going in that direction.”
The Cougars, which were an A team in the 2009-2010 season, finished 3-12 in the Public School Athletic League’s Brooklyn AA Group 2 division, and lost in the first round of the playoffs this year. Lewis was looking to bring in a coach with experience competing at the highest level.
“We need to get experienced ‘AA’ coaches to come into the job,” Lewis said. “We are looking for the experience and I knew he has done good things over the last few years.”
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.