Sachem Alum And Rutgers LAX Coach Suspended

A Sachem alum who is head coach of the Rutgers University Men's Lacrosse team has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of verbal abuse toward players, reports say.

Brian Brecht, who graduated from Sachem in 1991, was suspended with pay, according to NorthJersey.com, which referenced a press release from Rutgers.

According to the report, as a Rutgers coach, Brecht was ensnared in a sweeping evaluation of all athletic practices across all Rutgers programs. The initiative was ordered in the wake of the damning video of Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice verbally chastising, cursing, using homophobic slurs and in some cases kicking and hurling basketballs at players during practice. Rice was ultimately fired and the incident led to the resignation of Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti. 

Rutgers would not comment in the report specifically about what they found in the practice footage that led to Brecht's suspension, other than describing it as "verbal abuse." 

“There is no place at Rutgers for words or actions that are inconsistent with the values of the university," stated school president Robert L. Barchi in a statement. 

Brecht was in his second year at Rutgers, having left Siena College where he coached for seven years. Patch reported on his move to Rutgers when the news first broke in June 2011. 

Brecht was a Rutgers assistant in 2000-2001. He has made his way around the coaching circuit, starting at Yorktown High School in 1995, working as an assistant at Hartwick (1995-97), the University of Pennsylvania (1997-99), Army (1999-00), Loyola (2001-04) and as the head coach at Siena from 2004-2011.

After Sachem Brecht played college lacrosse at Springfield College in Massachusetts.