By Dylan Butler
But the game looked like any other. There was no pomp and circumstance, no tear-filled welcome back. Even Eisenberg's name was inadvertently left out of the pregame introductions. In many ways, it was like any other season opener. But in so many other ways, it meant so much more.
“The coaching part was easy,” Eisenberg said. “I've been coaching a long time. But the last 20 minutes of warm-ups was the most anxious I've been in six months.”
It has been a long, arduous road for Eisenberg since the afternoon of March 15, 1998, when his Cinderella Patriots were trailing by just three, 30-27, to Manhattan Center in the PSAL 'A' title game at Madison Square Garden, where Eisenberg worked as a vendor during college.
Francis Lewis star Lisa Williams slapped the exit sign on her way back to the Patriots locker room at halftime, breaking the glass casing. Williams was ejected by PSAL Director Thomas Hemans and Eisenberg lashed out at Hemans during a live interview on MSG Network before the second half.
“The first 16 minutes of the game were some of the 16 best minutes in athletics I've had,” Eisenberg said. “But after those 16 minutes, things changed.”
And changed for the worse for Eisenberg. The Patriots went on to lose the game and days later Eisenberg lost his job, fired by Francis Lewis Principal Catherine Kalina after what he called “30 seconds of stupidity.” He was allowed to continue on as a physical education teacher, but his coaching career in the PSAL appeared to be over. He also had to defend himself against allegations that he used racial slurs and threatened to kill Hemans.
“There were many dark days,” Eisenberg said. “I'd wake up and read I threatened to kill Hemans, which was an out and out lie. I had to defend myself against things that were absolutely untrue.”
After three unsuccessful appeals, Eisenberg's case went to arbitration and finally, last April, it was ruled by arbitrator Alan Symonette that Eisenberg's ban be reduced to two years and he was to be reinstated as coach on July 1, 2000. Still, Eisenberg wasn't all that pleased.
“The day I found out the arbitrator's decision, I wasn't jumping for joy,” Eisenberg said. “The [United Federation of Teachers, which represented Eisenberg during the arbitration] was happy, my friends were happy. I felt vindication to a degree, but I thought one year was more than enough considering how many lies were told.”
Through the process, Eisenberg has become more hardened and skeptical when it comes to the Board of Education and the PSAL.
“I used to be very pro Board of Ed and this has put a damper on that,” Eisenberg said. “It's very tough to know you work for an organization, both the Board of Education and the PSAL, that will do anything it can to try and bury a person.”
There were times during the process Eisenberg considered just giving up, walking away from all the headaches during the last 32 months, but the desire to clear his name got him through that.
“It was important for me to prove my innocence and important for me to come back for at least one good year of coaching,” he said. “I owed it to myself, but I also owed it to [the team] to come back as well.”
In the stands last Tuesday were “12 to 15 of my biggest supporters through this whole thing,” Eisenberg said. Noticeably absent though was Kalina.
“I wasn't surprised,” Eisenberg said. “We had a very good coach/teacher and principal relationship before March 15, 1998. It's not what it used to be.”
Joining Eisenberg on the bench is Bill Stolfi, who coached the team in Eisenberg's absence the last two years. While he is a familiar face back on the bench, returning for his eighth year as Francis Lewis head coach, Eisenberg is doing so largely with a group he has never coached before.
“I'm happy to see him on the bench calling my name, telling me to do this and to do that,” said senior Lissette Morales, who, along with Diane Ramirez, are the only two on the roster who played for Eisenberg three years ago. “We were all happy to have this over with.”
