Twins net victory in battle against Lynn Youth Hockey

LYNN – Mass Hockey gave the parents of twin 9-year-old boys a comeback victory when it ruled Lynn Youth Hockey officials were wrong to suspend the boys after their mother, Holly Foglietta, filed a complaint with the league about the alleged conduct of the boys? coach.Mass Hockey in a four-page appeal panel decision “reversed and rescinded” Lynn Youth Hockey?s decision to forbid Austin and William Foglietta from playing in the league and to bar their parents – Holly and Bill Foglietta – from league games.?Lynn Youth Hockey violated the bylaws, rules, regulations of Massachusetts Hockey and USA Hockey when it suspended/expelled William and Austin Foglietta from their squirt team without a hearing,” Jeffrey S. Brown, head of Mass Hockey?s Discipline Committee, stated in the ruling.Click to read the entire ruling.The Salem parents, in a story first reported by The Daily Item, alleged that head coach William Norcross screamed at Austin Foglietta during a Jan. 21 game in Tewksbury after the 9-year-old asked a referee if he could keep the puck after scoring his 200th goal, and then later threw a bag of pucks at the boy?s brother.Norcross has denied any wrongdoing.But the ruling stated that Lynn Youth Hockey officials – particularly president Wayne O?Keefe and Secretary Michael Johnson who Mass Hockey noted are both lawyers – decided to unilaterally suspend the 9-year-olds even though Mass Hockey told them they couldn?t.They then compounded that mistake by appointing a disciplinary committee that “had an obvious conflict of interest,” according to the ruling.?Both Wayne O?Keefe and Michael Johnson took part in the erroneous decision to summarily suspend/expel the Foglietta family. Both chose not to properly investigate the allegations against Coach Norcross. Both were well aware of the fact that the summary suspension was not authorized by the applicable rules and regulations. Both then were actively involved in the decision that compounded the error by continuing the summary suspension/expulsion of the Foglietta family pending a hearing,” the ruling states.Several Lynn Youth hockey members blamed Holly Foglietta for the controversy, saying she was an overbearing hockey mom who tried to interfere with the way Norcross ran the team, and they pointed to an email complaint in which she described the coach?s behavior as “borderline child abuse.”Neither Holly nor Bill Foglietta wanted to comment on the decision Monday, but their attorney, Gary Zerola of Boston, said the decision showed the actions by league officials to “vilify” Holly Foglietta while ignoring her legitimate complaints showed them to be “unfair from the beginning.”?They made the issue about Holly Foglietta and not about the coach?s conduct, which it should have been,” Zerola said Monday. “It shows the kids did nothing wrong and the mother did nothing wrong.”This year?s hockey season is over and the family has moved on, Zerola said, but he thinks other parents who allow their children to play for Lynn Youth Hockey should be concerned by the way league officials acted.?The reason why the Folgiettas chose to appeal the decision to Mass Hockey was to protect any other child whose parents may file a complaint about a coach?s conduct,” Zerola said.Attorney Kevin Foley of Salem, who represents Norcross, could not be reached for comment Monday.O?Keefe declined to comment when reached and Johnson did not return a phone call as of press time.Zerola noted the Mass Hockey decision pointed out Norcross was not certified to coach youth hockey at the time of the incident and that at least one other parent reported to them hearing Norcross “screaming at Austin Foglietta.”Brown also chastised O?Keefe and Johnson for failing to act in a fair and impartial manner.?After the summary suspension and before the discipline decision was issued, Mr. Johnson engaged in a concerted effort to obtain from USA Hockey both indemnification and counsel for Lynn Youth Hockey during these proceedings. Mr. Joh