By: Nate Calvin
PIONEER – North Central baseball coach Steve Swinson resigned on Friday after less than a month on the job.
Swinson’s resignation stems from an incident in January while in his role as wrestling coach at Defiance College.
In an interview with WTOL in Toledo, assistant coach Rudy Corpus said that Swinson made a racist remark to him regarding the coach at Muskingum University, who is African-American, during a trip to Chicago this season for a tournament.
Corpus said that Muskingum University was borrowing the Defiance College bus to go back and forth between the hotel and the tournament after the Muskingum bus had broken down.
According to Corpus, Swinson and Muskingum coach Rob Watson-Powell had a disagreement on how the bus would be shared.
Corpus said at one point, Swinson turned to him and said, “this doesn’t surprise me because that’s how all of those Black people are.”
Corpus and several Defiance wrestlers have called for the college to dismiss Swinson from his position as wrestling coach.
Defiance College issued a press release on March 10, regarding the incident saying, “On February 1, 2023, the College was notified that a coach made a racially insensitive comment in the presence of other Defiance College employees.”
“The comment was not made in front of students, and the College followed its policies and procedures to take appropriate action.”
At the moment, Swinson is not expected to be relieved off his duties at Defiance.
Corpus submitted his resignation on March 14 and currently nine wrestlers have entered the transfer portal.
Swinson was hired in February to replace North Central Treasurer Eric Smeltzer who was removed from his position as varsity baseball coach after being reprimanded in January for “violation of another employee’s privacy and workspace.”
Assistant coach Josh Hicks will lead the team as they prepare for their season opener on March 25.
Nate can be reached at sports@thevillagereporter.com