SoCalHoops High School News

Chadwick Fires Tom Maier
After 27 Years--(Jan. 28, 1999)

If you thought things were bad at some schools for former coaches (e.g., think of Montclair Prep, which summarily replaced long-time coach Howard Abrams this fall) then you haven't heard anything yet.  How about a coach who's won 450 games and two CIF Southern Section Championships getting fired in mid season without any explanation.   Tom Maier who has spent approximately half his life coaching at the small Division V school, was summarily dismissed last Wednesday according to published reports in the Daily Breeze.

According to the articl ein the Breeze, both Maier and Chadwick officials are being a bit circumspect about what they say, and no one, except the parties involved, really knows what happened.  According to the published report in the Breeze,  Ted Hill, Chadwick's headmaster, refused comment. He sent a press release instead to the paper, which read:  “ Maier has left the employ of Chadwick School. For the time being, Andrew Furuto, the freshman /sophomore coach, will serve as Varsity basketball coach. We  need and appreciate your support of the players and coaches as they continue the basketball season.”

According to the Breeze story, Maier didn't leave " the employ of Chadwick School.”  Instead, the Breeze, quoting Maier, asserts he was fired:

"Fired from all capacities, effective last Wednesday. And to top it off, he was fired in the middle of the season. You can only speculate that for whatever reason Maier was fired, he must have done something terrible, considering the years and wins invested. Those who know Maier, know he's a personable, stand-up guy. He's a guy who's hard to imagine doing something so awful to merit his treatment."

Maier sent his own prepared statement to the paper, saying,   “I have been wrongfully terminated at Chadwick after 27 years of teaching and coaching. I am seeking advice and will pursue all legal remedies. My attorney has recommended that I not say anything else.”

Maier was also in charge of preparing the Division V SCIBCA coaches poll for the CIF Southern Section, and his termination last week also meant that no one was preparing the poll, which conceivably affects almost 25 schools in the Division.  For now, we understand that the head coach at Price will be compiling results for the poll for the division for the next few weeks, although there may be some growing resentment among other coaches in the Division V ranks who do not want to have another coach involved in D-V who's team is currently ranked No. 1 in the D-VAA poll as the person compiling and preparing the poll.  But that's another story.

If and when we find out more details of the Maier situation at Chadwick, we'll let everyone know. In the meantime, the only thing that seems certain is that two law firms will be very busy for the foreseeable future defending their clients' respective positions.

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