The baseball stats at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi and the U of Southern Mississippi are fake too for the 1996-1998 seasons.  Now both these schools and conferences have fake record holders on the all-time list with all these player’s earning: All-Conference, Team awards and Freshman awards.  The coaches didn’t have a problem forging and tampering with them did they?  These coaches were Mike Hutcheon and Corqy Palmer and both faked my baseball stats.  None ever played minor league baseball much less for the Mets and Braves.  Neither own baseball records. This is what happens when you don’t remove the fake stats.  NOT HERE, I would raise their taxes and take away their social security.

-U.SN. DAV-P.I, registered Homeland Security for base security reasons

Well it will be great to see next year.
Grand Prix | Formula One

This story reminds me of a former college roomate…he was a mediocre student and athlete yet in his mind he lived the lie that he was a star on our team and was excuse ladden as to why he didn’t start.  He is now a head football coach on the west coast and his resume(posted on-line) is most impressive, too bad the majority of accomplishments and awards listed are completely bogus and fabricated.  It will catch up with him just as it did with this individual.  The accountability(a word Loudoun folk struggle with)is resignation/termination.  End of story.

While this article was both unexspected & in some ways unappreciated by several individuals, to me this is mostly an embarassment. I’ve lived in loudoun county all my life, I’ve been a student athlete, a coach, an a substitute teacher. I graduated from potomac falls, and had the great honor to play for and coach against current potomac falls head coach Joe Terrango, and it was Coach Terrango who built that program, and developed it from nothing from the moment the school opened up in the fall of 1997, to the sucessful, esteemed program it currently is. Some of us judging by the responses I’ve read on here are missing the point, Mr. Cotter embelished on his resume like plenty of individuals have done in the past to get a job, unfortunately for Mr. Cotters sake he got caught and therefore should of resigned on his own, but in no way should this matter gone to such extreme and unneccesary heights. While I know Mr. Cotter on a personal level, I have played baseball with him, coached baseball with him, and even taught beside him, I am disappointed with him,but I’m not going to sit here and throw stones at him, because people make mistakes, I have, everyone has, no one is perfect, and sometimes its easier to be mad or point the finger then forgive someone for their mistakes. I know Mr. Cotter is sorry for the embarassment he caused himself, his family and LCPS, and I know he won’t make the same mistake again, and for that I forgive him and think we all should let him move on and wish him the best of luck in the future, I sure do. Good Luck Mr. Cotter I wish u the best sir.

Civility said:

“Forgiveness is something we do not practice enough of in our society.  If Coach Cotter is truly repentant and admits his mistake (to his superiors and not to the public), he deserves a second chance.”

I can’t believe how many people actually believe that Cotter deserves another chance at the job.  If any of us were to apply for a job, and got knocked out of contention because we lied on our resumes, we certainly wouldn’t get a second chance.  Why should Cotter?  It wouldn’t be fair to the other, equally qualified, candidates who did not lie on their resumes.

Forgiveness is something we do not practice enough of in our society.  If Coach Cotter is truly repentant and admits his mistake (to his superiors and not to the public), he deserves a second chance.  George O’Leary received a second chance.  He coached for the Vikings and a Div. 1 college after that happened,  He could have gotten the job without all the extra fake credentials.  Quite unfortunate but let him deal with this privately.  He’s a good guy and well intentioned.  Great coach!!!  Very great coach!

What is that awful sound? What is that terrible smell? Oh, I know. It’s a dead horse being beaten!

Hey Libby,

Don’t go around calling people overzealous and spineless and then not have the guts to post your last name.  At least the reporter puts her full name to the story, unlike your sorry self.

I think the best coach in the County is Dan Gitzen. Over the past 2 summer seasons Dan was the General Manager of a travel team named the Mid-Atlantic Mets (www.midatlanticmets.net) out of Northern VA. Over the past 2 1/2 years of coaching travel baseball Dan had a rapidly successful summer program that has seen over 55 players go on to play college baseball. Throughout that time Dan sent several of his top players to play with the Red Sox in the fall and that cohesiveness of the two programs spawned into their merger in the fall of 2009.

Prior to coaching travel baseball he spent 4 years coaching at the high school level (Notre Dame Academy/Middleburg, VA, Potomac Falls HS/Sterling, VA, and Stone Bridge HS/Ashburn, VA) where he specialized in hitting, catching and pitching. During college Dan was a member of the Shepherd University baseball program from 1999-2000 before transfering to West Virginia Wesleyan where he played from 2000 - 2003 and was the starting catcher for the Bobcats his junior and senior seasons. He was named captain in 2003 and was a 3-time WVIAC All-Academic team member. Finally in 2003 - 2004, he served as an assistant coach at WVWC while finishing up his student teaching. A class person, coach, and mentor.

The Innocent ..... seriously?

angle - deflect—- (any one still looking??)

ok, so now LCPS has to tear apart Mr. Cotter instead of just advising him behind closed doors that they have changed their minds, due to resume padding…..still in my eyes Mr. Cotter is a good man, his track record of a wonderful teacher and coach stand for itself.. LCPS has far more problems than Mr. Cotter and I am wondering…HAS THE LCPS EVER LIED????? TOLD A FIB?????.....I still think Hatrick needs to ride the bus, same one they have the smack downs on, instead of getting a car allowance and every LCPS employee needs to pay $200 to park. Can they review and verify every LCPS employees resume and check up on every aspect of it with background checks, and verify EVERY THING?????  We might not have any teachers, coaches or board members.

Hey Employer, as the people funding the coach’s salary, we all have standing to comment when a school district employee is caught lying.  I am posting this while eating breakfast, but nice attempt at comparing this to something unrelated.  You or I would be fired if caught lying on a resume, why is some baseball coach any different?

This is a completely sad situation—one that does not seem to have been fully verified before hitting the papers.  It is also amazing that so many people have such mean-spirited comments regarding a teacher and coach that they have never met and do not know personally.  Coach Cotter is and has been an excellent baseball coach and instructor—this is first hand knowledge—my son played for him and received instruction from him.  So, for you who don’t personally know Coach Cotter, you obviously have way too much time on your hands that is being used in a totally distructive manner—go get a life!

I met Coach Cotter at Freedom HS and thought he was a pretty decent coach but also thought he had a very big ego and full of him self.

Which is proven by his resume and TCtwins website.

Not sure how he graduated 20 players to the college level as an assistant coach.  Does the head coach get any credit? 

Does anyone know what the TC stands for in the TC Twins organization?

You got it Traelic Cotter.

Think he has a big ego??? Check out his travel team’s website ...tctwins.com. Supposed to be promoting the players?? NOT! It’s all about HIM!!

It seems odd that most of these comments are done within the 9-5 work day. So, pretty much saying, everyone here should be fired for not being on task at work. Make sure to put on your next resume that you like to blog about situations that don’t even apply to you during your shift. See if that will get you hired.

Libby wrote “I think it would be a shame to hire any current high school coach from the area because as a future Tusc. parent I personally will be suspicious of anyone as they might have been the spineless wonder who supplied the tip and I would rather have my son coached by someone who embellishes his past rather than someone who will model a person without a backbone that doesn’t believe in his/herself enough to attack another person and effect so many futures without taking off the mask,  the mask is lie in and of itself.”

That could also be written as “I’d rather have someone who’s willing to lie to get the job over other candidates with whom he’s be on equal footing if not for the lies.  I’d rather have that person than someone who was honest and because of that honesty, didn’t look as good on paper as the liar, and therefore didn’t get the same consideration for the job.”

This is a sad story all the way around.  A really great coach has resigned from a position in which he would have done a really great job.  An over zealous reporter eager to get the scoop took a spineless anonymous tipster’s word and ran with it before taking the time to check all the facts first.  We only have to keep our tax information for 7 years before the government tells us we can get rid of it, but so many of you expect a little known average university to keep and record their records flawlessly for 10 years!!!! PLEASE get real.  If all you Cotter critics were to look in the mirror I firmly believe many of you could not deny that you have embellished your image for the benefit of someone you were trying to impress…be careful…because if you deny it you just might be lying.  As for those of you claiming that Cotter’s winning abilities comes only from the talent on the team that PFHS has now, then you should think about the coaches in the area who have had a TON of talent on their teams and can’t win SQUAT!!!  It seems to me that it is up to the Parents of the kids that should be the real role models in their children’s lives and teach their kids to understand that no one is perfect, whether it is a parent, teacher, coach, priest, minister or best friend.  But that they should learn from each person in their life what are the characteristics they want to model after and which they shouldn’t, but it seems to me that if you haven’t taught your children that basic fact of life by their high school years then shame on you as a parent.  What Tuscarora has just lost from this tragic turn of events is a very enthusiastic baseball coach that knows the game inside and out and does not berate a player for errors made, and a coach that unifies his team.  I think it would be a shame to hire any current high school coach from the area because as a future Tusc. parent I personally will be suspicious of anyone as they might have been the spineless wonder who supplied the tip and I would rather have my son coached by someone who embellishes his past rather than someone who will model a person without a backbone that doesn’t believe in his/herself enough to attack another person and effect so many futures without taking off the mask,  the mask is lie in and of itself.  I am a proud Cotter fan and sad future tuscarora parent.

Baseballer wrote “Nobody is denying the fact that being dishonest was wrong.  But winning is important too.  Today’s kids also need to be around competition and winning.”

Fail!  Winning is important, nobody is denying that.  But being honest and a person of character is MORE IMPORTANT - particularly in an authority figure like a teacher and coach!

Amazing that so many folks are quick to excuse a TEACHER and role model because he happens to be winning baseball coach. What example are you setting for your children? As long as you win anything goes??
We justify sports in part because it builds character and teamwork. If this coach falsified his resume he should have been fired instead of allowed to resign, regardless of how many games his team may have won.

It’s only a game.  For G_ds sake, can and did the guy coach before?  If so, give him the job.

As friend of PFHS said -“If every coach were investigated to this degree, we would have a lot of resignations in the county for every sport”.

If that’s true, hope someone looks at Park View’s Mickey Leap!  Then maybe PV could get a coach who actually cares about the baseball program and someone who will do more than drive the players away from the game.

Next year if he tries to come back and coach I can assure you that there will be some complaining.  How are they going to know if he is lying or not when he tells them to do something?

If every coach were investigated to this degree, we would have a lot of resignations in the county for every sport.  It is a shame that individuals feel compelled to glorify their achievements, but many feel the need to have one up on the next person regarless of the outcome.  There have been several retrations of information, especially what has been written in the Loudoun Extra section of the Washington Post.  Sometimes these are misunderstandings of both the applicant and the press.  Let’s all be careful about where we place the blame and hope that others think before they embellish their accomplishments.

Welcome back,
The ‘Rora was your ticket out

Welcome back,
To that screwed up place that you’ll laugh about

Well the claims have all changed since you came to town
when those buds from college tried to burn you down

Who’d have thought they’d dump ya (Who’d have thought they’d dump ya)
Rora is where we need ya (Rora where we need ya)

Yeah we tease him a lot cause we’ve got him on the spot, welcome back
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back

For those with any direct connection with the PF HS Baseball Program, this story was hardly shocking.  Coach Cotter being fast and loose with the facts is well known, especially by the players.  While many were initially impressed by Coach’s countless tales of past heroics, they quickly saw the stories for what they were - an effort by an adult authority figure to impress HS kids.  Taking this propensity for lying beyond the dugout to a formal resume and job interview, while not surprising, is a very clear indicator of Coach Cotter’s character.  Based on the previous posts, there are very different opinions on Coach Cotter.  I believe some have given him way too much credit for the success of the program and the accomplishments of individual players.  It was my experience that he was quick to take credit for the good but when a player struggled the blame was placed squarely on their shoulders.  While my personal interactions with Coach go back more then a year and were infrequent, I found him to be moody, arrogant, and generally rude.  Now we see what comes next…and no one is paying closer attention then the kids themselves.  To simply reinstate Coach Cotter at PFalls is hardly the message I would want sent to my kid if he were still in the program.

Last I checked he was the ASSISTANT coach for PFalls, not the HEAD coach

Last I checked, he was the ASSISTANT coach for PFalls not the HEAD coach.

It is freaking HS baseball people.  The guy lied on his resume.  99% of those posting on here would be canned if they did the same thing.

hot rod hahaha thats great “yeah when i was younger when me and my bro would wrestle my dad would come in be pissed and pick us up he threw my bro like 7 feet across the room from his neck and he picked me up by my neck and threw me through the wall” bs

hahaha “yeah when i was 8 and my older brothers were playing in little league i was playing up with them because i was so big and good and i was dropping bombs all day and was a better hitter than everyone and i was years younger”  just a example of one of his lies..

Nobody is denying the fact that being dishonest was wrong.  But winning is important too.  Today’s kids also need to be around competition and winning.  Cotter is a great baseball coach and many kids can learn a very valuable lesson from his mistake.  This is not something that should end his very young coaching career.  We’ve all made mistakes, most of us have kept our jobs despite them.  His was a public job and he paid dearly for making this mistake.

Based on responses from those who support Cotter, it would seem that a wining baseball program is more important than being honest and setting a good example for our kids.  This is high school, folks, not the major leagues.

In response to the previous comment:
I am a supporter, and he should have resigned if he did what he said he did. 
However, as far as what he did as a coach at PF:  PF is the best program in the county, and Traelic brought them to a totally different level.  They did have talent, but those pitchers he coached didn’t have the stuff to go undefeated the past 2 years.  His pitch calling and working with the pitchers got them to that level. 
Offensively, PF has never been good, until Cotter came on and changed the way they operate offensively. 
Sad to see things happen this way, Tuscarora is losing a great coach who would have taken that program to a high level.  I hope to see him at PF again in the future.

Classic! These people that have commented saying he is not a bad person or shouldn’t have been penalized for his action are ridiculous.  He obviously has something to hide and can’t stand up to his actions.  No matter what this coach did at Potomac Falls mainly because he didn’t do #### anywhere else was not his coaching.  He had the talent the last two years mainly that has never been seen in the DD as a team.  Two undefeated teams doesn’t rely on that much coaching.  You could put a foreign language student coming over to the US to coach at Potomac Falls and they would win plain and simple.  To all you people out there that are trying to find the best way to get around this situation because your son has been coached and/or plays for Coach Cotter or you like him give up.  There is no way getting around this and just grow up and move on.  If he does indeed find a way back to a coaching job at Potomac Falls it will be a disgrace from a spectators stand point.
Thanks and God bless

Wow!  It’s seems that a bunch of little league parents got together to remove the coach they didn’t pick.  My guess is that these helicopter parents want to increase the odds of playing time for their sons.  Good luck to the next guy.

I just hope all of the readers that preached to us about how great a guy this is, and bashed this reporter for writing a story on this topic, will now get on here and apologize.  He may certainly be a great guy, but when you take on the task of coaching impressionable youth, you need to be honest.  It’s as simple as that. His resignation pretty much validates every single thing that the reporter writes.

To Anonymous#2 - He’s a LCPS teacher.  I’m pretty sure LCPS does criminal background checks before hiring their teachers.  Of course I could be wrong, but I hope not since my children attend LCPS schools.

Criminal back ground needs to be checked. He’s lying about this, what else is he not saying. Makes one wonder. You never really know a person. Just what they want you to know.

From the reporter: I am working on a follow up to this story and would love to talk to some of you on the record for reactions.  If you would be willing to give your name and comment for the follow up, please give me a call at 571-209-5150 or e-mail me at jwagoner@timespapers.com

One of the many sad parts about this story is that the part of his resume that he may have fabricated, was perhaps one of the least applicable to the coaching position——his achievements as a player.

A lot of great players have made lousy coaches, and many great coaches/managers were never standout players.

But none of that is relevant now. He either lied or he didn’t. His current enthusisam is irrelevant, and any arrogant past behavior cited by annonymous posters is irrelevant.

He says he acheived those things, the Times Mirror has strongly implied that he did not. Now the ball is back in Mr. Cotter’s court.

(And to those who are about to trot out the “innocent until proven guilty” standard, remember, this is not a court of law.)

Ideally teachers, like Ceasar’s wife, should be “beyond reproach.” That doesn’t mean that we all don’t make mistakes. But when we do, the test of character is how quickly and sincerly we admit the mistake, take the consequence, and move on.

To be clear, if he did lie, he put himself in this situation, and has to deal with it. 
He is a very good baseball coach, I do not believe any of the so called lies got him the job, what he did on the field got him the job.  How did a reporter get ahold of his resume?  Or did they take a press release not written by him to get their information.  If any of you have ever dealt with a college or anything involved with a college, then you might understand outside of gpa and official transcripts, most of this information is probably not kept up to date very well. 
Also for the record, it would be very hard for him to respond to this through email, as the LCPS email system has been down for over a week now. 
Great coach, I hope things work out for him.

Well they tease him a lot cause they got him on the spot welcome back, welcome back- welcome back- welcome back

The guy lied on a resume.  He got caught.  Any other professional would be canned with little prejudice.  How come when taxpayer dollars pay the tab, there is always a different standard?

Plus it’s freaking HS baseball.  Some PE teacher will fill in just fine.

If the awards/honors are fabrications, coach Cotter should come clean and resign…that simple.

Unfounded smear campaign.  You’d think he was one of the now infamous Russian spies being investigated by the Post.  Coach Cotter was a key part of the success behind the Panthers for the last 3 years.  Awards are not what got him the job.  He’s got great character and compassion for the kids and sport.  Tuscurora is lucky to have him as a coach.

Nonetheless, these individuals who have no knowledge of Traelic as person have no right to publicly scrutinize him in this type of forum.

I played baseball at Point Park University with Traelic for 2 seasons. I remain anonymous because I don’t want to cause any uproar within our former team. We had several star players on the team: Cory Gearhart, John Cerra, Bobby Mirt, Joe Martinson, Doug Haidet but Traelic was not one of them. He was a descent player but never anything close to what was listed in this article. We didn’t have any All-Americans on our team. We had an average team those 2 years at best. I was just happy to make the team myself and I really enjoyed being on the team those two years even though we didn’t have the type of seasons Point Park was used to having.

I never had any beef with Traelic but it was common knowledge amongst the players that Traelic drastically stretched the truth. Traelic, it is time to come clean and move on with your life. This is 8+ years coming…Remember, you were an example to these young kids like it or not.

From someone that has observed Cotter for a few years now, I agree completely that he is all about promoting himself anyway he can….hopefully it has all caught up with him.

Hey Mr ... (whoever you are)  If you had the b@lls to identify yourself, would you have the gall to say of anyone that: “He lies in everything single story he tells.  He is a pathological liar.”  Pretty strong accusations.  Sounds like someone with a major ax to grind or just one of those losers who simply posts comments on any and every topic anonimously.

Follow up to individual that apparently has no name,

Nothing you have said holds any water to the job that Mr. Cotter has done at Freedom and at Potomac Falls and the AAU teams that he has managed. Your comments may be a result of either little to none playing time or some other personal vendetta with Mr. Cotter. Not to mention, the team with the best athletes does not always win. If so the Yankees would win the world series every year. And I do believe that he was a part of the Freedom coaching staff that beat a talented Park View team and nearly upset Potomac Falls in 2007, and I can guarantee that Freedom did not have “the best athletes” in that match-up. In the future, please make an attempt to formulate proper opinions not based on emotion.

Who gives a shizzle?  It’s only baseball.  Who cares? Not America.

Goldberg,
I do know Mr. Cotter as a coach, as I did play for him.  He has been a succesful coach becuase the players he has are good athletes.  Anyone could come and put on the uniform with the athletes he had putting them in the right spots and they would win.  He lies in everything single story he tells.  He is a pathological liar.  Plain and simple.  Yes he is a decent person but if u are with him every single day you find out actualy how he is.  He left practice early, he wore his own teams stuff to highschool practice.  This man is all about himself and wants to put his name out there.  This is proven now that he has lied in a high school transcript! Can he not just tell the truth and win it fair?? What has the world come to this is just ridiculous.

It is extremely easy to criticize another individual while sitting behind a computer. Nobody on this pathetic board knows anything about the situation (whether the findings are in fact true or false.) I and many others will attest to the fact that Traelic is a fantastic coach who has enough individual merit to run his own program. I cannot fathom how so many people can formulate such a negative opinion about a man just because YOUR candidate didn’t receive the job. If the school had any questions regarding Traelic’s accolades during his baseball career they would have investigated it themselves without the work of second hand journalism.  In regards to Kevin Taylor, (the supposed “Sports Information Director” at Point Park) he is only in his SECOND year as Director of Althletic Communications (not sports information) at Point Park University.  Now, Mr. Taylor’s day to day duties include publications on the web site, keeping up with stats, writing press releases, etc. Naturally, one would assume that records with his predecessor hopefully were kept, but who knows what information could be lost in a matter of 10 years. This is not about whether Traelic is a good man or not, it is about information that was apparently embellished and if it was he will be forced to deal with the repercussions of his actions. Do not sit behind a desk and attempt to throw harsh words at a man that you people know absolutely nothing about.

I think Mr. Mark Bauer would be a great candidate. Mark has recently held the position as an assistant varisty coach at Loudoun Valley. My son played for him during his JV season. Everyone really liked Mark and he has all the credentials of being a Varsity Head Coach. I hope this moves forward and Mark has a chance to be a head coach. Good Luck Mark.

I am fairly certain that the reporters and the public do not have all of the facts on this issue.  We do not have copies of the application, the resume, the transcripts etc.  It seems that this would be a matter best discussed amongst the parties involved and not in a public forum. 

Further, with so many really important issues facing our community, our state and our country, maybe folks could channel their energies in a more positive way than in making comments on a topic that they are not a party to.

Many of your are missing the point.  According to the paper, the NAIA, the university he played for, and the conference he played in, the FACTS are this guy athletically was a one-time conference player of the week and was an Honorable Mention selection his Senior year.  This was all done at a lower division college (NAIA).  These two accolades are not even close to what he stated on his bio.

In his bio, he stated that he was a two-time national player of the week and a 3 time All-American.  He also states he was a 3 time Academic All-American.  It is clear that he blatantly embellished his accomplishments.  I wonder if he really got his teaching degree.

Everyone that is interested should do a search of his name on Google.  His bio is posted on a number of websites he is associated with.  The same inflated accomplishments are posted on these other websites.  This is no misunderstanding or typo.  This is a consistent pattern of behavior and it finally caught up to the guy.  I wonder if he really was a 3-time HR champ as it states on his bio on one of the other websites.

The most sickening thing about this whole thing is Mr. Cotter is a 5th grade teacher that lied about being an Academic All-American not just once, but THREE times.  Who’s to say he wouldn’t tell his 5th grader, it’s OK to look at the kid’s paper during the test.  It’s OK to have someone else to do your homework.

This is a very sad situation.  All I know is that I wouldn’t want Mr. Cotter as my kid’s teacher!

I didn’t realize that the Loudoun Times had the resources to investigate and verify the resumes of all the teachers, coaches and administrators in the county.  And this is the only descrepancy they’ve ever found.  Note that the sources could not verifiy the awards, but apparently no one has said he lied.  I’ve received numerous awards at the HS and College levels and doubt that they most could not be verified by anyone but me.  These awards probably didn’t land him the coaching position.  His work over the past few years pretty much speak for themselves.

Look what’s is done and it is time to move on. I would call Mark Bauer. Mr. Bauer is an assistant football coach at Stone Bridge and a baseball Coach at Loudoun Valley.  Mr. Bauer is a Park View grad, was a two way baseball and football star at Greensboro College, and I can attest that he is great with the kids. A very patient, dedicated, and accountable young coach.

Hey WELCOMEBACK:
Up you’re nose with a rubber hose

Dear Mr. Cotter
  you did a bad,bad ting.  You are a teacher and a leader, and you expect you’re students to do the same!? I am sick and won’t be in class today because of it.

signed: Epstien"s Mother

Glad to see the truth come out!!!

I don’t think anyone is questioning Mr. Cotter’s passion for his sport or for the kids he teaches and coaches.  What’s being questioned is the validity of his resume, and perhaps his honesty.

If the information on the resume is correct, he should get the job.  If it’s not, and there’s a satisfactory explanation, then the job should be reopened and Mr. Cotter should again be given the same consideration as everyone else.  But if he knowingly lied on his resume to gain an advantage, he should be removed from consideration.  Period.

There’s no room in any school system for someone who lies on his resume.  What message does that send the children they teach?

The article says nothing about the type of person this man is.  I do not know him, nor do I know all the facts regarding the story.  However, the purpose or reporters is to report facts.  This story reports the fact that his resume does not represent the truth.  From the article, this man was given the opportunity to rebutt the claims but has not done so (yet?).
Just because this man is a good person, or loves baseball, as those of you who know him claim, does not mean he can lie on his resume to land a job as a head baseball coach.  There are countless others who are good men and love baseball.  If this man’s accomplishments listed on his resume elevated him above candidate #2, then it should be grounds for termination.  Stop crying for the man who lied and start crying for candidate #2 who was cheated out of a job (that he loves)

Mike and Teresa,
  It’s nice to see someone else stand up for this man as others are trying to ruin his reputation with mud slinging on something they don’t have all the information on. I know many parents who will definitely stand behind Mr. Cotter as they know his true character and abilities as a coach.

Perhaps those who are so concerned about the behavior of our teachers should look at real issues with this county. As a former substitute for the county and someone who worked in the admin building, there are far bigger concerns regarding education that could use attention.

I am not suggesting that embellishing one’s resume is okay. But I know the kind of person Mr. Cotter is and I definitely give him the benefit of the doubt that there is some misunderstanding. Even this article and those interviewed can’t say that the accolades mentioned weren’t achieved. One such violation states that one accolade WAS achieved, just misrepresented as being a national award. So why are people so up in arms when they don’t know what has happened here? He is a great coach and any school would be lucky to have him. I can attest to what a hard worker he is and it’s so sad that people who don’t even know him or what has transpired are ready and willing to ruin a name he has worked hard to make for himself.

Best wishes Mr. Cotter. I know that I will continue to support you and you have many other parents of those you coach and teach on your side.

I’m glad everyone is getting on their soap box and saying negitive things about a man and a matter they know nothing about. Taking one side of a story and running with it is stupid. The sky is falling and we must run and tell the king.
I know Mr. Cotter and he gives my daughter lessons in the sport that he love’s. I can tell he has a true passion for the sport. Now do I believe he would lie to get a coaching job. NO I do not. You got to hear both sides before burning a person at the stake.

Oh yeah, didn’t you people know?  Resume bloating is the new thing in this highly competative job market and down economy.  Cheating- the new American way to get what you want and get it the easy way.  Don’t work hard anymore, that’s for suckers.

There is no shame that should be felt by the reporter here.  The fact of the matter is that Mr. Cotter lied, not just a little bit, but a lot.  The resume that Mr. Cotter submitted to the school obviously helped him get the job.  He might be a nice guy and upstanding citizen to some, but I argue and ask the question, is he really upstanding if he grossly misrepresents himself in many areas of his resume.  Should we trust a man to be our child’s teacher and coach if he is petty enough to lie about his baseball accomplishments?  This to me shows his true character. 

The reporter did her job and verified with the NAIA and his alma mater that his so-called “accomplishments” were bogus.  Bottom line, this is not the reporter’s fault or anyone elses other than Mr. Cotter’s.  I can tell that in this case, the truth hurts.  It hurts the ones closest to Mr. Cotter and Mr. Cotter himself. 

In reading this article, Mr. Cotter had a chance to respond by email but failed to do so.  If I had so many incorrect statements being said about me, you can bet that as an upstanding citizen I would respond right away.

The reporter is not saying he is not a good teacher or a baseball coach. It simply saying that he lied on his resume and that being a teacher of kids and athletes this is unacceptable.

Shame on the reporters of this article and those that condemn a person they do not know and a situation they are not party to. I happen to know the person in question and can testify to the upstanding person that he is. He is a wonderful teacher and motivating coach. I believe anyone who has witnessed the type of teacher and coach that Mr. Cotter is would disagree with the picture being painted of him.

The reporting done in this article is grossly negligent. It’s amazing that this article shames someone for incorrectly listing information on a resume and yet they report without having accurate information or the whole story. There are always two sides to every story but for some reason people are so quick to judge. Well let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Since we have all made mistakes, and don’t know the whole story, we should resign ourselves to letting those involved handle this issue. I can vouch, however, that Mr. Cotter is an upstanding citizen and doesn’t deserve the harsh words being said about him. He loves the sport of baseball and has been driven to help teach others who enjoy it as much as he does. Any organization he is a part of will benefit as a result of his participation and he will always have the support of his many fans.

Lying on one’s resume is common but, if caught, is not worth it. The truth always comes out.

As a teacher, I find the falsifying of an academic resume very disturbing. If Mr. Cotter’s resume is proven to hold untruths, I hope that LCPS will termiate his contract.

“Very important journalistic work here…  NOT”

Actually, this is important journalistic work. Assuming that he has indeed taken liberties with his resume, it begs the question “With what else has he taken liberties?”

The article said that 10 people had called or emailed the NJCAA about Cotter, and that was just in the last two weeks. I find it difficult to believe that the root of their concern is merely some obscure award that lasted a week way back when.

It’s like the police officer who is criticized for engaging in a high speed chase after he sees a car run a stop sign. It’s not the stop sign violtion that’s on the cop’s mind, but the liklihood that there’s something a lot more serious below the surface….and perhaps not that far below either.

Aren’t there more important things to investigate when hiring someone that if they received a athlete of the week award??

Very important journalistic work here…  NOT

resume padder!

Lying should not be rewarded. Thank goodness for concerned and interested citizens that investigated his false information.

“Since the issue is a personnel matter, Byard would not comment either.”

This sounds like a cop out. A personnel matter would be something he did on the job, or something he did off the job that had a direct impact on his on-the-job performance.

Verifying or retracting statements of fact that have already been made public by LCPS should not be protected by the privacy of a “personnel matter.”