The school district’s request that football coach Tim King resign for his participation in an unsanctioned football game that resulted in 19 members of the school community exposed to COVID-19 and landing in quarantine was rescinded Nov. 23 after community uproar.

On Nov. 20, King, head coach of the Valley Regional/Old Lyme football co-op was asked by the administration of the Regional 4 School District, where he is also a physical education teacher, to resign. The district’s administration had been investigating staff and student involvement in an 11-on-11 football game held by the league prior to Oct. 28, which led to the quarantine of 17 students and 2 staff members based on exposure to a positive COVID-19 case.

The club team and independent football league formed after the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference canceled the football season due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a Nov. 5 Region 4 Board of Education meeting, board member DG Fitton said that watching the game online “with employees of our district standing on the field and students from our school there” was “disconcerting.”

“We have a group of students, parents, and potentially employees in our district who wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer and selfishly decided to put the rest of our children at risk,” Fitton said at the meeting.

After King was asked to resign in mid-November, a large number of community members came out to support him.

A change.org petition requesting that King be allowed to retain his position was started by Jack Cox, a player for the Valley Regional/Old Lyme football co-op. It had more than 2,800 signatures as of Nov. 23.

“Tim King has long been an integral part of the Valley Regional High School and a welcome face to all who walk in,” reads the petition. “Over the years he has become a backbone of the Valley regional community. He has touched the lives of more than any one person could hope to in a lifetime, whether it be students, football players, coworkers, colleagues, or opponents.”

A joint press release from Superintendent of Schools Brian White and King, issued Nov. 23, announced the decision to retain King.

“Through discussion, we have come to an understanding about the extent of the coach’s involvement in an independent team of Region 4 football players,” said the press release. “Coach King does understand as a role model, the concerns about community perception regarding his involvement with this team.

“We both understand and accept that as educators and professionals we have a special responsibility to our students, staff and community during a pandemic and that we must place safety above all else. It is in this spirit, that the request for Coach King to resign from the position of head football coach has been rescinded.”

Governor Ned Lamont recently enacted an executive order (No. 9M) giving the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) the authority to put a “pause” on all team sporting activities in Connecticut, except for collegiate and professional sports, through Jan. 19, 2021.

The new rules include prohibition of “all team scrimmages, competitions, camps, clinics, and tournaments including all interscholastic, ‘pick-up’ games, and other informal athletic activities.”

The updated rules for all sports activities are available on the state DECD website portal.ct.gov/DECD.