The longtime head coach of the Atlantic Cape Community College baseball team in New Jersey, Rodney Velardi, has resigned after a scandal involving communication devices in the team's batting helmets, per a report from the Courier Post. During a game against Rowan College Gloucester County on April 22, umpires discovered electronic communication devices in the helmets of ACCC batters.
Upon the conclusion of the game, Velardi was suspended while the NJCAA conducted an investigation. On May 4, after the investigation had been concluded, the school requested that Velardi -- who'd been the coach for 13 years -- resign from his post.
"After the situation with the game, he was suspended pending the outcome of the NJCAA Region 19 review, and at that time, we had asked for him to resign," Atlantic Cape Chief Marketing Officer Laura Batchelor said in a statement.
The controversy began the night before, during the first game of the weekend series on Friday, April 21. Rowan College freshman pitcher Ethan Dodd told manager Rob Valli that he might have been tipping pitches. At the time, Valli and the coaching staff didn't think much of it.
The next day, during the first game of a doubleheader, Valli and the Rowan College coaches noticed that Atlantic Cape had a good read on pitches early in the game. Still, Valli didn't say anything until Rowan College catcher told him he heard a voice in the helmet of an Atlantic Cape batter.
That's when Valli brought his concerns to the umpire in the bottom of the third inning. Upon inspection, the umpire found communication devices in the helmets of both baserunners at the time. Valli said the umpire, like him, was shocked by the discovery.
"(He was) as surprised as I was," Valli told the Courier Post. "The reaction was I went out and said they have headsets in their helmets, and he seemed surprised. ... He's like how do you know? I explained our first baseman has been hearing this now and we just confirmed it the second time these guys got on base. In 30 years, I've never asked an umpire to check a helmet, but I'm out here now, and I'm telling you now you're going to find ear pieces in these helmets, and he goes OK, let's check."
Valli believes that a centerfield camera was used to determine incoming pitches, which were then relayed through the communication devices.
In its own investigation, Atlantic Cape said the devices were only used in practice, and it could not determine whether they were used during the game. The school did note it had no clue that the devices had been purchased in the first place.
The NJCAA Region 19 is still investigating Atlantic Cape to determine whether further action needs to be taken, but the school believes that Velardi's resignation brought a proper conclusion to the situation.
"The NJCAA Region 19 ethics committee met (May 9) to further determine if there was any additional outstanding issues with the college," Batchelor said. "We told them at the time coach Velardi was no longer with the program and they actually gave praise to our athletic director for being responsive with the investigation."
