A high school football coach in Wisconsin has been fired over his association with a local club football team.
Madison West is on the hunt for a new football coach after it was discovered that former head coach Brad Murphy had created a club team for athletes during the spring.
“Today I found out I guess there’s a job posting for my position,” Murphy told Channel3000.
Murphy has been the head coach at Madison West for five years. He said he wasn’t told that he was fired, but knew that losing his job was a possibility when he started the Madison West Club Team.
According to rules set by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Assocation, coaches are limited on the number of out-of-season contact days they can have with athletes they coach.
Murphy was willing to jeopardize his job in order to give his players the experience he felt they deserved.
“I talked to a lot of my kids, I told them over six months ago that if the school shuts this down for our kids, I’m going to make sure you have a senior year,” said Murphy.
Football players at all four Madison high school were notified that they wouldn’t have a season. However, every other school in their conference would.
“It was kind of devastating. I’ve been playing football since the second grade so I just always look forward to that in the fall,” said Nazier Jones, a senior at Madison West.
Murphy’s club team allowed them a chance to play, while teaming up with rival players in the area.
“They’re asking me every day, ‘Why does this team get to play? Why does that team get to play?’ And they’re sitting at home wondering why they don’t get to,” said Murphy. “That doesn’t sit well with me. That’s not something that I’m going to stand for, and I’m going to continue to do what’s right for the kids.”
The WIAA gave Murphy approval for the team. He said that he believes Madison School District could have secured an exemption for him but didn’t.
Madison West’s varsity team is currently 4-0. They have been traveling to play any school that would agree to play them, but haven’t played any of their usual opponents in the Big 8.
