East Chicago Basketball Coach Resigns After Accusing Refs Of Racism
(CBS) -- An East Chicago high school basketball coach has resigned after claiming white officials cheated his mostly black team out of a Class 4A Michigan City Regional win last Saturday.
WBBM's Mike Krauser reports.
Indiana High School Athletic Association Commissioner Bobby Cox will meet with East Chicago Central High School administrators on Friday following racial comments basketball coach Pete Trgovich made after his team's double-overtime loss to Warsaw.
The Warsaw Tigers threw a full court pass to star player Kyle Mangas with 2.8 seconds left in the game. E.C. Central's Jermaine Couisnard and Deontay Bonaparte guarded Mangas and went up for the long pass. The refs called a foul on Bonaparte, prompting fans to start throwing things at the officials. Mangas would hit both free throws to win the game for Warsaw.
Trgovich thought the white referees cheated his mostly black basketball team out of a Michigan City regional win. He also questioned why a black official never worked one of his games.
The coach, who's considered somewhat of a legend in the area, noted E.C. Central shot only eight free throws, while Warsaw had 23. Trgovish also said it was blatant who the officials wanted to win.
IHSAA commissioner Cox did not say anything specific about the controversial game. He noted that an African-American referee called the championship game Warsaw would play in, which resulted in a loss to the all-black Merrillville basketball team.