A former western Pennsylvania basketball coach says he effectively was fired after complaining when a small preparatory school told him he was recruiting too many blacks.
Anthony Cheatham says in a federal lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh the Kiski School became uneasy upon learning about his recruiting.
The school is in Saltsburg, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. It’s one of the nation’s oldest all-boys prep schools.
The lawsuit says a school official told Cheatham an all-black basketball team was “not consistent with Kiski’s mission.”
Cheatham says he was “constructively discharged” last week. He’s seeking unspecified damages for mental anguish, loss of income and humiliation. He wants his job back.
A telephone message left for Kiski late Monday hasn’t been returned. Kiski says its students come from 15 states and 13 countries.
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