A Malcolm High School softball coach says a social media storm over a controversial play he drew up at last week's state tournament cost him his job.
The Malcolm Board of Education decided not to renew Travis Meyer's contract at its Monday meeting because the online backlash was "too much of a black eye" on the district, Meyer told the Journal Star on Friday.
The board deliberated in closed session for nearly three hours after hearing from players who supported keeping Meyer as a coach.
Meyer, who does not work at the school and shares coaching duties with another person, said he was technically in charge of the team and took the fall for the play executed during the state tournament.
The online backlash centered on a play Malcolm used against Bishop Neumann — a high school in Wahoo — during a Class C elimination game Oct. 13 in Hastings.
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With runners on second and third, a Malcolm player bunted down the first-base line, scoring the runner on third. The base runner on second also managed to score, but skipped third base by a wide margin in doing so.Â
But she wasn't called out.
That's because Neumann coaches — who apparently missed the play — would have had to appeal to one of the three umpires.
Meyer, who played NCAA Division I collegiate baseball, said the play has been around "for years." He learned it himself as a high school freshman in 1989.
"The play in question breaks zero rules," he said. "I have no regrets over what we did."
But people online had a different view, including Missy Chvatal, a school counselor at Bishop Neumann who has had family members play for the Cavaliers.
"So what are you teaching your players here, Coach?" Chvatal wrote in a post on Twitter in which she shared a clip of the play and tagged the Nebraska School Activities Association and two Malcolm accounts.
"If we're going to win, we're going to have to cheat ... @nsaaevents glad the umpire standing right there didn’t call it either. @MalcolmSoftball @RaiseTheAnchor.â€
The thread went viral, drawing both criticism and support of the base-running maneuver.
Meyer said he replied to Chvatal via tweet in an attempt to shift the blame from the base runner to himself: "Thanks for noticing a well designed play. Appreciate the shout out."
Meyer said the board told him that his responses on social media contributed to his firing.
The father of a Malcolm softball player who wished to remain anonymous to protect his daughter's identity told the Journal Star he took issue with a school employee from Bishop Neumann taking to Twitter to voice her criticism.
He said he was especially concerned when his daughter replied in the Twitter thread defending the play and received a response from Chvatal in which she tagged the college team where his daughter plans to play.
"Instead of reaching out to Malcolm Public Schools ... she chose this route and then took it a step forward by singling out a 17-year-old girl," the parent said. "It crossed the line when it went past that."
Chvatal later deleted her original tweet and made her account private.
The Rev. Lee Jirovsky, chief administrative officer of Bishop Neumann, told the Journal Star in an email that the school was aware of the social media controversy.
"Bishop Neumann administration has conducted our own internal review of the events, and we plan to discuss ways we can improve our own response to such situations in the future," Jirovsky said. "Our hope is this discussion brings light to the situation for the integrity of the players, the game, and the tournament."
Asked about Chvatal's employment status or whether the school planned to take any disciplinary action, Jirovsky said Bishop Neumann does not comment on employment or personnel matters.
Last Friday, Malcolm's activities department tweeted it was aware of the play and that an internal investigation was underway. Malcolm officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Meyer, who operates a bar in Pleasant Dale, said the board told him the decision came down to the tweets, not the play.
He said the play is technically legal, unlike the "pick play," an illegal maneuver he says high school football teams regularly use.
The Clippers, who eventually lost to Bishop Neumann 7-6 and went 1-2 in the tournament, practiced the play, Meyer said, but it wasn't executed exactly to plan.
"We have a young girl who got excited," he said.
Ultimately, Meyer feels he won't be able to find another coaching position despite leading Malcolm to multiple state appearances over his six years at the helm. Meyer previously coached at Lincoln North Star.
"I love coaching softball," he said. "I'll never be able to do that again."