Nutley A.D. Suspended For Hitler Remark Also Accused Of Groping Student

The athletic director at Nutley High School who was suspended after praising Hitler's leadership skills during a talk in Madison last month had previously been accused of telling a student she had a "nice ass" and touching her inappropriately while coaching her at basketball.

Paul Milo

04/18/2019 2:04 p.m.

The student and her parents filed a lawsuit in 2017 alleging that, in January of that year, Joe Piro was teaching the girl to "box out," a defensive technique in basketball. Piro placed his hand on an "intimate spot" of the girl's body, the lawsuit states, before Piro grabbed the girl's hand and placed it on one of his intimate areas.

The girl kept trying to move away but Piro kept maneuvering closer, according to the lawsuit. When Piro stopped, he allegedly told the girl she had "great legs, great calves and a great ass ... for sports" as the girl left the area.

The suit alleges that the girl immediately reported the conduct and a subsequent investigation determined Piro behaved unprofessionally, but Piro did not suffer any adverse consequences.

The school district settled the claim for $72,000 without admitting any wrongdoing. The suit was first widely reported Thursday by NJ.com.

Piro, 47, was briefly suspended for the remarks comparing Hitler to Martin Luther King made before an audience of Madison High School students last month. He has since returned to work.

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