Baseball head coach resigns after illegal communications devices were found in his team’s batting helmets…and yet they lost 11-4!
- The team that turned out to have communication in the headset lost the game 11-4
- An investigation was called for after noises of battle helmets were heard
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
A JUCO baseball head coach has resigned after two of his players were found to have illegal communications in their helmets.
Atlantic Cape Community College coach Rodney Velardi left his post, per New Jersey’s wishes, after 13 years in the job.
The scandal came to light during an April 22 vs. Rowan College Gloucester County, which Atlantic Cape lost 11-4.
“After the situation with the game, he was suspended pending the outcome of the NJCAA Region 19 review, at which point we had asked him to step down,” Laura Batchelor, chief marketing officer at Atlantic Cape, said via the Cherry Hill courier mail.
Rowan and Atlantic Cape also played on April 21. It was then Gloucester County pitcher Ethan Dodd who felt he tipped pitches. It turned out he was wrong.
Atlantic Cape Community College coach Rodney Velardi (C) resigned after investigation
Referees checked Atlantic Cape players after an opponent heard noises coming from their helmets
Rowan College Gloucester County head coach Rob Valli called on umpires to conduct a check
“He felt like they got really good swings on pitches he thought were good pitches,” Gloucester head coach Rob Valli told the outlet. Before Dodd was added, “hindsight” was on the right track.
First baseman Felix Diaz told Valli that sounds were coming from his opponents’ batting helmets. Despite initial disbelief, he asked the referees to conduct an investigation, finding communication devices in the helmets.
“I didn’t believe it,” Valli said. ‘I just thought, no. I didn’t believe it. I didn’t believe him, but despite that sophisticated trickery, I just didn’t think they would. I didn’t think they would.
“For me, I wasn’t going to go straight there in the first inning. We had to confirm that it was. So, the second time, those same guys got in, and he confirmed with me the whole time. Once those guys started talking to each other, he said, “I hear it. I hear it.”
An investigation by Atlantic Cape was inconclusive and, according to Batchelor, Velardi admitted to using the devices in training, not in competition.
“We found that coach Velardi was in direct violation of the [NJCAA rules],’ she said. “Whether that was done on purpose, we couldn’t say, but he was in violation.”
‘As an institution, we had no idea. I apologize on behalf of the college to Rowan College Gloucester County and anyone else who may have been affected.”