Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013: Volleyball coach accused of steroid possession

   Leading off today: Lindenhurst boys volleyball coach and physical education teacher Kevin Muscarello was arrested Sunday on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance, multiple Long Island media outlets reported.

   According to court documents, Muscarello was pulled over by police, who subsequently discovered a large quantity of oxandrolone. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

   Oxandrolone is a man-made anabolic steroid sometimes prescribed to promote weight gain following extensive surgery or illness.

   District officials told Newsday that Muscarello will be reassigned pending the outcome of the case. Last year, he guided the team to the NYSPHSAA Division I final.

   White Plains departure: Carlos Mejia's resignation as the White Plains girls soccer coach is being linked to his decision to leave an injured player on the team bus while he looked for a custodian to unlock the school after a road game, The Journal News reported.

   During Mejia’s absence Sept. 10, Erin McGee, who suffered a concussion, reportedly briefly passed out and was aided by teammates for several minutes before her father arrived, the paper reported.

   Mejia resigned Sept. 23, one week after the district began an investigation. Acting Superintendent Timothy P. Connors, who cited privacy issues while restricting his comments, said, “There’s a certain responsibility for coaches to be with their students if they are not feeling well.”

   A player speaking on condition of anonymity told the paper the bus driver remained present during Mejia’s absence, which lasted less than 10 minutes. The driver, she said, “wasn’t doing anything. ... He didn’t move one finger.”

   A spokesman for the bus company said no disciplinary action was taken against the driver because coaches on the bus are in charge on trips to and from games.

   Mind-boggling suspension: Utica Notre Dame football coach Byron Abraham has been suspended for a week for not allowing four players to participate in a game last weekend after missing a week of practices.

   Abraham will be in the stands at Sherburne-Earlville on Friday but isn’t allowed to have any contact with the team until Sunday, The Observer-Dispatch reported.

   Abraham told the paper the four unidentified players who dressed for Saturday's 46-14 win over Clinton – all participants in the school’s Naval Junior ROTC program – were told well in advance that they would not play after

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missing that much practice time.

   “I didn’t take (the suspension) very well,” Abraham, 53-35 in 10 seasons, told the paper. “The reason was insubordination for something I was never ordered to do.... It’s never been a problem before. I’ve been here 10 years now, and we’ve never once played the kids who left for a week.

   “I don’t know of a coach out there who would play a kid who missed a whole week of practice. What we did was right.”

   School principal Sister Anna Mae Collins said she could not comment on the suspension.

   Abraham said parents of some of the sidelined players conducted “very vocal demonstrations” at Saturday’s game.

   “They’re all good kids; I imagine they don’t feel good about this,” Abraham told the paper. “It’s not their fault. It’s not the kids doing the squawking."

   Parting thought: It would have been borderline unconscionable for Abraham to have put a player who missed a week of practice on the field last weekend.

   Consider this: How many nanoseconds would it have taken for one of those angry parents to retain the services of a lawyer if their son suffered a serious injury in that win over Clinton?