Jack Daley, longtime athletic director of Gilroy High School
whose ouster last week hit a huge nerve in the community, has hired
legal counsel.
Jack Daley, longtime athletic director of Gilroy High School whose ouster last week hit a huge nerve in the community, has hired legal counsel.
Two other claims have also been filed against the Gilroy Unified School District.
One is on behalf of Calvin Harrison, twin brother of former GHS track and field coach Alvin Harrison.
Alvin was terminated April 7 after hitting another vehicle from behind on state Highway 73, causing it to overturn and sending two people to the hospital while wrecking a rental van on a school athletic field trip. No GHS students were in the van during the time, but Calvin was injured as a passenger.
The other claim has been filed on behalf of injured driver Eriberto Garcia.
According to the claim Garcia lost control of his vehicle, hit the concrete median and flipped over after being rear-ended by Alvin.
On Tuesday Daley’s lawyer, Joseph Cisneros with the Biegel Law Firm in Monterey, sent a statement on behalf of Daley.
According to Cisneros, Alvin showed the GUSD Human Resources Department a California Identification Card.
“This should have been a big warning light that there was an issue with his driver’s license,” he wrote. ” Clearly, it was not Mr. Daley’s duty to conduct that background investigation.”
It wasn’t discovered Harrison did not have a valid driver’s license until after the accident.
A school district investigation revealed Daley rented the vehicle for Harrison to use, but Daley, speaking publicly for the first time Thursday, reiterated that he had no knowledge of Harrison’s invalid license.
The following is a statement sent from Joseph Cisneros, a lawyer with The Biegel Law Firm in Monterey representing former Gilroy High School athletic director Jack Daley. The content of this statement was not edited.
Our law firm represents Mr. Daley in this matter. In light of the attention which has been cast on his removal from his position as athletic director, we felt it was important to provide a brief statement.
In the most recent article the board is quoted as stating it has information not available to the public. We are obviously privy to the same “information” and we respectfully disagree with the contention that the information justifies the steps that have been taken. The statement by GHS alumna Brandi Rodriguez that Mr. Daley has been turned into a “scapegoat” is the more accurate statement.
When Mr. Harrison was hired by GHS, the Gilroy Unified School District’s Human Resources Department conducted a background check on him. A simple rudimentary background search, if it was actually conducted, would have revealed the fact that Mr. Harrison’s license to drive in California was suspended. We understand that Mr. Harrison showed the Human Resources Department a California Identification Card. This should have been a big warning light that there was an issue with his driver’s license. Clearly, it was not Mr. Daley’s duty to conduct that background investigation.
Additionally, Mr. Daley was not charged with the responsibility for taking all of his coaches to the transportation department to ensure that every time a vehicle was released, it was released to a teacher or coach with a valid driver’s license.
Mr. Daley learned about what happened to Mr. Harrison while he was at home, with his family, on the weekend. He immediately took steps to address and deal with the situation, focusing on the safety and well being of the students. He personally drove down to Southern California and drove the students back home, after they were done with their track meet.
During the past 20 years, Mr. Daley has served the students of GHS to the best of his ability. He has never had a negative review or any incident that would call his judgment into question. He has been recognized in the past by GHS and the school district for his contributions. Mr. Daley would never do anything to put GHS student athletes in danger. Clearly, Mr. Harrison took some steps to deceive the administration about his suspended license. However, in this case, the facts and information are such that Mr. Daley is not the person or the party who should be blamed for the deception.
