By Jill Fahy

For The Colchester Sun

The Colchester High School library was packed with students and parents Monday night for a 3½ -hour public hearing into allegations of inappropriate behavior on the part of the boys hockey coach who was fired last month.

On Tuesday, February 2, the day after the hearing the Colchester School Board, decided not to reverse the decision to fire Bruce Garrapy.  The board had terminated Garrapy on Jan. 19,

The board began deliberating behind closed doors Monday night, immediately following the hearing that aired the allegations of inappropriate behavior, including incidences of swearing; speaking to the team using sexual overtones; allowing R-rated movies to be shown on the team bus; and being partially undressed while talking with a student-athlete in the coach’s locker room.

A veteran coach of 24 years, Garrapy had been in his second year heading up the Colchester varsity team when he was fired after an investigation into the allegations. The board made its original decision after a closed-door session with Colchester High School Principal Amy Minor and Superintendent Larry Waters.

Monday’s hearing, during which the board was asked to reconsider Garrapy’s termination, included testimony from high school administrators, the hockey player whose complaint about the alleged, partially nude locker room incident sparked an investigation, and from Garrapy himself.

More than 120 people crammed into the high school library to listen to the testimony. Pietro Lynn, a lawyer representing the school district, ticked off the allegations, painting a picture of a coach who made poor choices as a coach and blatantly ignored conduct standards set by school policies.

Garrapy, accompanied by his own attorney, Harley Brown, admitted to the majority of allegations but said the incidents were taken out of context and don’t merit termination. Brown, in laying out Garrapy’s case, said the accumulated allegations against his client stem, in part, from certain parents and players who were disgruntled about a lack of playing time.

Attorney Lynn called on the testimony of CHS Principal Amy Minor, assistant principal Tim Emery, and athletic director Bernie Cieplicki to detail the allegations and how they were handled.

Much of the testimony centered on an incident – later determined to have been non-sexual in nature – in which Garrapy was alleged and later acknowledged to have been naked from the waist down during a conversation with one of his players in the coach’s locker room at Burlington’s Leddy Arena about a month before Christmas break.

The player, Christopher “Critter” Furlani, testified on Monday that he felt awkward during the “one-to-two-minute” incident, in which he said Garrapy was nude from the waist down in the coach’s locker room at Leddy Arena.

Former Assistant Coach Steve Beams, called by attorney Brown to speak about the incident, said Garrapy was “in the middle of changing into his practice pants” when Furlani entered the locker room. When asked how long Garrapy was disrobed during the exchange between the coach and his player, Beams answered, “Just long enough to change a pair of pants.”

Administrators on Monday reiterated that there was no sexual misconduct in locker room incident but said Garrapy received a written reprimand, and he signed a field trip chaperone form that explained expectations for conduct, including refraining from profane or obscene remarks.

It was during an overnight hockey trip to Maine, the next day, when Garrapy was alleged to have allowed the team to watch R-rated movies while on the bus. This charge and others, including allegations that Garrapy had, in the past, used the “F-word” and used language with sexual overtones in front of his players, came to light after the Maine field trip and sparked another investigation.

When questioned by Lynn about the incidents involving swearing and using language with sexual overtones, such as “pop that cherry,” Garrapy admitted to the language but said certain statements were misconstrued as sexual. “Popping the cherry,” he said, meant getting the first goal.

“I love the kids; that’s why I do this,” Garrapy said, explaining why he wants his job back. “There’s 22 kids out there I’ve been very close to. They’re truly great kids, and no, I would never intentionally disrespect a kid.”

Brown, Garrapy’s lawyer, said the added allegations against his client were leveled, in part, because senior goalie, Christopher Furlani, was made to share ice time with a younger goalie.

After the hearing, Furlani and his mother, Kathy Furlani, took issue with Brown’s assertions. The locker room incident in particular, said Kathy Furlani, did not have to be sexual in nature to qualify as misconduct and inappropriate behavior.

“Ice time had nothing to do with it, and they’re fishing for anything to make themselves look good,” Kathy Furlani said “It’s inappropriate behavior, bad judgment and there’s no excuse for it. I don’t think he will be reinstated.”

Meanwhile, the hockey team continues to practice and play games under interim coach and former athletic director David Bahrenburg. Christopher Furlani said it is business as usual on the ice.

“The team is focused and has looked past it,” Furlani said.