Hinsdale South coach Mike Belcaster looks on during the game against Glenbard South on November 28, 2023..
Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
According to multiple sources, Hinsdale South has fired boys basketball coach Michael Belcaster.
Belcaster was placed on administrative leave by the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education in January, but then reinstated after most of the team’s players and many parents spoke out on his behalf.
The school district has year-to-year contracts with all of its coaches.
“Thank you for reaching out,” Belcaster said via text on Wednesday morning. “Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to speak on this at this time. I will reach out when able.”
Controversy swirled around the basketball program in November when Erin Savage, the mother of basketball player Brendan Savage, sued the school district and several employees after her son was cut from the team following tryouts.
According to Steven Glink, the Savage’s lawyer, the lawsuit is still pending and there is a settlement conference on Wednesday.
“I think [firing Belcaster] is the right move,” Erin Savage said. “It should have happened a long time ago. There is no reason that Brendan was cut from the team. It still bothers me that people said he had a bad attitude and that is why he was cut. We asked [Belcaster] point blank if Brendan said something during tryouts and he said it was nothing like that.
“I don’t know what Belcaster told the team. But he has told people Brendan had a bad attitude and that just is not true.”
Jason Jaffrey, a Hinsdale South parent, has two sons that were hoping to play for Belcaster next season.
“These players would run through a brick wall for [Belcaster],” Jaffrey said. “He cares about these kids. The way this whole thing was handled was really unfortunate. It is setting this program back several years.”
The lawsuit was filed Nov. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. It alleged that Belcaster cut Savage after tryouts in retaliation for the family filing a complaint with the school district alleging verbal abuse and bullying against the previous coach, Michael Moretti.
Belcaster was the sophomore coach under Moretti during the 2022-23 season.
“I’ve never filed a lawsuit before,” Erin Savage told the Sun-Times in November. “Our six kids have been involved in approximately 31 varsity sports at the high school. I’ve never complained about a coach. But we’ve also never encountered [someone] who thinks he can do whatever he wants. That was [Moretti].”
Several days after the lawsuit, the school board held a special meeting and put Savage on the varsity basketball team. The school district has never released a statement on the matter. Back in November, a school district spokesperson said the district doesn’t comment on legal matters.
No one from Hinsdale South responded to requests for comment on Wednesday either.
Brendan Savage eventually worked his way into the team’s starting lineup. Hinsdale South finished 15-17 and as 8-4 in the West Suburban Gold conference. The Hornets won one Class 3A state playoff game before losing to De La Salle in the regional finals.