Rich Smith, Garden City district settle lawsuit
The contract of Rich Smith, who was Garden City's varsity baseball coach for 44 years, was not renewed after the 2016 season. Credit: James Escher
Former longtime Garden City High School baseball coach Rich Smith reached a settlement with the district regarding his age-discrimination lawsuit, according to a court filing,
Robert Sullivan, the attorney for Smith, declined to reveal the terms of the deal that was approved Wednesday by U.S. District court judge Sandra J. Feuerstein.
“It’s the classic confidential settlement,” Sullivan said. “The matter was settled, the amount is confidential and it’s over.”
Smith, 75, filed a federal age-discrimination lawsuit against the district, athletic director Dawn Cerrone and then-superintendent Robert Feirsen in March 2017.
Smith alleged in his lawsuit that his contract as baseball coach was not renewed after the 2016 school year because of his age. He had been the varsity coach at Garden City for 44 years and a coach at the school since 1967.
Smith’s record of 667-386-18 makes him Long Island’s second winningest coach behind Division’s Doug Robins’ 695.
Smith did not immediately return a message for comment.
“My client is happy to move on,” Sullivan said.
A spokeswoman for the district did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Jim Baumbach is an award-winning investigative reporter at Newsday, where he has worked since 1998. He spent two decades in the sports department, where he covered every professional team and league, including events such as the Super Bowl and World Series.
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