There’s a flag on his play.
Grand Street Campus fired controversial head coach Bruce Eugene for letting a Long Island football player use his Brooklyn address to enroll in the school.
“Mr. Eugene’s employment was terminated following an [Special Commissioner of Investigation] investigation,” said Department of Education spokeswoman Toya Holness in an e-mail. “[The investigation] found he arranged for a student from Long Island to attend a New York City school using his own home address and without paying non-resident tuition.”
The Department of Education requires students who are not residents of New York City to pay a $7,119 a year to attend public schools.
The school suspended Eugene in August — just days before the season began.
His team quickly rallied around his cause — staging a protest on the steps of the Department of Education building in Manhattan on Sept. 2. Eugene’s supporters claimed the suspension stemmed from a long-standing animosity between the coach and Grand Street principal William Jusino.
The revelation comes less than a year after Eugene led the school to its first-ever Public Schools Athletic football championship. But he was also a contentious figure — Eugene made headlines when he allowed runningback Ramel Ashby to play in the final, even though the high-schooler was facing shooting and gun-possession charges. Ashby has been cleared of the shooting but still faces the weapons allegations.
Eugene — a former Grambling State standout who also had a short stint in the National Football League — has faced recruiting accusations in the past, reportedly attempting to bring in players from other programs.
The New Orleans native — who worked as a substitute teacher at the school — filed a suit against the Department of Education in September challenging his suspension.
Eugene could not immediately be reached for comment.
