An assistant wrestling coach from a prominent Connecticut program finds himself in the middle of a firestorm thanks to allegations of improper aggression against one of his students in math class.
As reported by Hartford CBS affiliate WFSB, Mark Ruzbarsky, a match teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Jonathan Law High in Milford, Conn., is facing charges of assault in connection with a brief choke hold that he put on a student in his math class.
The incident in question allegedly occurred during an algebrae class, where Ruzbarsky noticed that a 15-year-old student was apparently not doing his designated classwork during the in-class time required. Ruzbarsky claims he then approached the student, grabbed his arm and then performed the universally recognized motion for teacher frustration: He grabbed his neck and pretended to choike him, sending his head downwards. Or did he pretend?
Ruzbarsky’s accuser admits that the alleged throat-grab only lasted for the whole of one second, yet that was still enough to warrant further investigation, and later testimony claimed the four-year math teaching veteran actually put the student in a second, longer choke-hold shortly therafter. Ruzbarsky has not denied that second act, though he insists that his interventions have been made solely in fun.
That, quite understandably, has not been enough to assauge the doubts of Milford parents and adminitrators about Ruzbarsky, who will remain in the district’s employ pending the results of a trial that is scheduled to begin on June 29.