Commack coach reassigned after slapping allegation

A longtime Commack school district teacher and soccer coach has been reassigned after being accused of slapping a player on his team, according to a district official, the coach and the parents of the Commack High School student.

They said Sebastian DiRubba, who was the Commack High School boys soccer coach, was accused of slapping the player last fall.

The player's parents said they filed a complaint with the district a week after their son told them that DiRubba hit him while the player was sitting on a bench during soccer practice. The family's name is being withheld because the teen is a minor.

"We have two witnesses who saw my son get slapped," said the player's mother.

DiRubba, who has been teaching for 42 years, denies hitting the player. "The accusation is totally false," he said. "I never hit any of the kids."

According to DiRubba, a dispute between him and the student over playing time prompted the player to say the coach had hit him.

The player's parents said that while their son had been benched during the team's last two games, the incident had nothing to do with revenge.

"This is not about getting even," the player's mother said Friday. "This is about standing up for your child."

DiRubba said he has been reassigned to the district's central office and is barred from participating in all school sporting events. He said he has put in papers to retire in June.

The reassignment comes two days after Bryan Tornee, 26, an assistant track coach and part-time night custodian in the Commack district, was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor.

Tornee had been suspended by the district because he was accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old Commack female student off campus on Dec. 26.

He was arraigned last Wednesday on charges of third-degree criminal sex act, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Tornee pleaded not guilty to the charges.

District spokeswoman Brenda Lentsch said the district would not comment on the details of either case. Commack sent out a letter last week to the school community about DiRubba's reassignment.

Commack High School athletic director James Thode and district Superintendent James Feltman did not return repeated calls for comment.

The district's letter noted that it has been "a particularly difficult week" for everyone in the district.