Saddle River Day girls basketball coach stepping down after investigation into viral video
An investigation by Saddle River Day School through an independent outside counsel found that insinuations of inappropriate conduct by girls basketball coach and athletic director Danny Brown in an anonymous social media post are “absolutely and unequivocally false,” according to a statement sent to the school community Monday morning.
However, Brown is voluntarily stepping down from his post as girls basketball coach, citing the toll that recent events have taken on him and his family. He will continue as the school’s director of athletics and director of outreach. A search will begin immediately for a new head coach.
The statement said that after interviews with a number of students, parents and faculty members, it was determined that the social media video captured a “water fight” between Brown and some students. Witnesses described the water fight as "funny" and said there were no offensive actions taken, according to the statement.
However, the investigation did find that some school policies were not followed. The school said it will review its policies.
The investigation was handled by Hatfield Schwartz Law Group, which turned over its findings to an advisory committee made up of Saddle River Day administrators, leadership staff and members of the Human Resources Department.
The 23-second video first surfaced on social media at the end of June. It appears to show Brown holding a girl, whose face is blurred, as she leans against a hotel bed and then slides off.
The identity of the person shooting the video is unknown, and the user who posted the video did not respond to several messages. It is unclear where the video was taken, but a time stamp on the video says Dec. 30, 2021, 12:30 a.m. The Rebels played games in the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational on Dec. 29, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, winning their division at the event.
Brown emerged as a successful girls basketball coach at Cresskill High School, then was an assistant at Teaneck. He became Saddle River Day's head girls basketball coach and athletic director in 2011. The program has prospered under his direction, becoming the first team to win six straight Bergen County titles and the first Bergen County school to reach the Tournament of Champions final in 2019.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Saddle River Day girls basketball coach Danny Brown stepping down
