A New Jersey high school girls' soccer coach, Frank Lawrence, denies allegations that he harassed and assaulted his players.
A New Jersey high school girls' soccer coach, Frank Lawrence, denies allegations that he harassed and assaulted his players.
Lawrence, who coached the Red Bank Catholic team, was arrested at a soccer field in Little Silver, NJ, after officers responded to a soccer practice at around 9:24 a.m. because Lawrence was harassing a juvenile, placing his hands on and shoving the juvenile, whose name has been redacted from the police report obtained by Asbury Park Press.
Lawrence is no longer employed by Red Catholic, but it's unclear whether he left willingly or was fired.
In a statement, Lawrence's attorney, Mitchell J. Ansell, said Lawrence "vehemently denies the allegations recently made against him. Coach Lawrence never pushed any of his players on July 19, 2023, or at any time in his 35-plus years of coaching youth, club, high school and college soccer. There are numerous witnesses that were present on July 19, 2023, that will attest to this.
“It is a sad day in our society when a coach can be arrested for ‘coaching.’ We look forward to this matter being resolved in a court of law where we are confident that Coach Lawrence will be vindicated.”
Lawrence began coaching at RBC in 2013. He previously coached women’s soccer and was the athletic director at Brookdale Community College, where he was suspended for year for improperly handling cash related to a basketball tournament.
Brookdale's attempt to dismiss Lawrence after the dismissal led to a lengthy legal battle, in which Brookdale agreed to pay Lawrence $425,000 to settle a breach of contract lawsuit.
