High school football coach says he was fired because roster had too many black players

A high school football coach has been removed from his job, he says, because he has too many black players on his team.

Camden Catholic High coach Nick Strom told the Courier Post of New Jersey that he had been removed as football and golf coach and that he had been placed on administrative leave as a teacher.

Strom said school officials fired him from his coaching position because he wasn't “conforming with their viewpoints” on what they want the student body and the football team to look like. He says he was asked multiple times about student athletes’ ethnicities.

Strom, whose record is 34-6 as a head coach, said about half of his current football team includes minorities.

“From day one, the administration told me they did not approve of the ratio of black to white students," he told the New Jersey newspaper. “When I’d have a list of potential freshmen, the first question I’d be asked is if they were white or black. I was confused about why the question was, ‘How can we get more white players in the program or on the field?’”

He said since he was hired in 2013, the issue of race came up 10 to 20 times with school president Mary Whipkey.

Whipkey denies discussing race with her former coach.

"We are not that kind of environment and we take it very seriously when those accusations are made," Whipkey told the Courier-Post. "This is a special community here. We embrace our diversity here. Those accusations are not true."

On its website, Camden Catholic is described as a "suburban, college preparatory, day and boarding school." Tuition ranges from $9,575 to $9,875 annually.

This story was originally published May 1, 2018 at 11:22 AM with the headline "High school football coach says he was fired because roster had too many black players."